Far Away
by PalaeoPanthalassa
Summary: -Based on the CARTOON- After her little brother Shade was blown off course during the storm, Dawn went back to look for him. Lost, she is found by someone else instead.
1. Lost

Author's Note: So how many times has it been that I've tried to write a silverwing fanfic now? I don't even know anymore, I think this is like the fourth or fifth attempt. Well, let's try one more time. On with the show!

This fanfic was somewhat inspired by Vexia Iceflower's _"Naughty Bat"_ \- which unfortunately doesn't look like it's ever going to update now, but we can dream *sniffles*, we can dream.

Edit 18/02/15, I added a segment at the beginning as I felt the chapter jumped too rapidly into the story before. I originally chose not to include this scene as I thought there was no point dwelling on characters that weren't likely to appear again, but in doing so I think I might have cut the main character's personality with it.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Lost**

"Hey, stop that! Dawn, you're worse than mum!" Shade exclaimed as his older sister fussed over him. "I can catch my own food!"

"I'm just worried about you, Shade, there isn't much food to catch on the journey to Hibernaculum," she told him. "You need to eat as much as you can now."

"You know you could just say you don't think I'm big enough to make the migration," Shade huffed.

"That's not it at all," Dawn reassured him. "I was really worried before my first migration, just like all newborns are."

"That's sort of encouraging," Shade mumbled, looking unsure. He was hesitant to be more open about his concerns right now, they were not alone on the branch. Two other second-year silverwings were perched with them - friends of Dawn, who were politely pretending not to be listening in; but Shade knew they could hear him. Shade took a step back with a determined look on his face. "I'm going to catch a tiger moth, I am a good hunter."

And he took off into the forest.

Dawn watched after him silently.

Presently, one of the two other silverwings cleared their throat.

"Talking about the migration, how are you two looking forward to the journey?" Nettle spoke up.

"Once you've made the journey once, you've made it a thousand times," replied Audacia dismissively. "I'm not worried at all this time, not like last year when we'd still not made the journey."

Dawn hesitated in joining in the conversation, crossing her wings and frowning.

"Dawn?" Audacia questioned. "You're not worried, are you? We all made this journey just fine before."

"It's not me I'm worried about, it's Shade," Dawn replied.

"Shade?" Nettled asked. "Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine. I think he might have grown since the last time I saw him."

"Speaking of little brothers," Audacia grumbled as three newborns alighted on the branch opposite them. "Hello, Chinook."

"Evening, ladies," Chinook said cheerfully to them, Breeze and Todd crowding around him. "How are you finding the hunting tonight?"

"Go away, Chinook," Audacia replied simply.

"We were just wondering if any of you had some tips to surviving the migration?" Chinook continued, smiling and ignoring his grumpy older sister. "You were the newborns of last year, so you must know what it's like making the first migration."

Nettle let out a rather un-batlike squeak, earning her a raised eyebrow from Audacia.

"I'm sorry," Nettle said to her. "But it's just your little brother is so adorable! He's asking for help because he's frightened and he wants you to look after him."

Audacia narrowed her eyes and sighed. Chinook didn't look too happy either being referred to as adorable, but he passed it off as a yawn.

"There isn't really much to say other than eat as much as you can now, and when the journey begins stick close to the middle of the colony," Dawn explained to the younger bats. "That way you're less likely to be blown off course or tire from the stronger winds."

"And don't fly too close to the ground or a wolf might eat you," Audacia added unhelpfully.

"Anything else I might add is rather obvious," Dawn continued. "Like don't stray from the convoy, listen to Frieda, stick close to your mother, you know, intuitive stuff."

The three newborns were very clearly hanging on to every word. Nettle squeaked again, Audacia poked her irritably in response this time.

"Ok, you've heard the wise one talk, now go play or something," Audacia shooed the newborns away. Chinook and the other two young bats thanked Dawn, then sped off into the forest.

"You know, I wish Shade would listen to me like they did," Dawn said. "I'm worried he's not taking this migration seriously enough."

"Don't be deceived by Chinook's charm," Audacia told Dawn. "He might act the little gentlemen, but he's really a little git."

"Aw, come on, don't be so harsh on him," Nettle joked. "Chinook is the sweetest newborn I've ever met, he's just still quite young."

"You only say that because he's not your brother," Audacia countered. "You've only got sisters. But Dawn knows what I'm talking about, dontcha Dawn?"

"My brother is a sweet young bat too," Dawn replied innocently. "Did you know he looks up to Chinook?"

Audacia rolled her eyes, she looked as if she was about to throw a tantrum, but then again she always did like to act the drama queen.

"As much as it makes me sound like an old hag," Audacia began sagely. "All newborns are the same. Arrogant, bratty little things. Can you remember how we were last year? How obnoxious we were when we actually completed the migration? As if not millions and millions before us had done exactly the same thing?"

"Talking about old hags, Bathsheba is right pain," Nettle groused. "She told me off again for flying too close to the ground. Who does she think she is, the leader of colony?"

"Technically she is an elder, so she outranks us all automatically," Dawn replied. "Anyway, it was probably for your own safety, and you know, not to give a bad influence to the newborns."

"She's out to get me, I swear," Nettle shook her head. "But that's enough complaining. Who's up to catching a few of those last summer beetles before sunrise?"

They flew off into the forest, laughing amongst themselves, joking and chatting interspersed between pursuits of beetles, moths and mosquitoes. Dawn forgot about her concern for Shade for the time being. She remembered that as the eldest child, she had had no one but Ariel to look after her during last year's migration, but Shade had her and she would do everything she could to make sure he made the journey unscathed.

She didn't think she had anything to be worried about yet, there were still several more days before the colony would depart from Hibernaculum. But as it turned out, she was wrong.

That sunrise, a small young silverwing, spurned by a need to prove himself, broke the most ancient law and looked at the sun.

* * *

The air was filled with the sound of churning wings as the colony flew southwards towards Hibernaculum.

It was a strange thought that only a few hours before Tree Haven had still stood tall, brimming with cheerful happy bats, but now it was nothing but a burnt husk to be forgotten and lost with time. Most of the colony were still in a state of shock, Dawn herself couldn't quite believe that they were already migrating. It was like some weird daymare in which she was neither fully awake nor completely asleep.

"What was Cassiel like?" Shade asked her unexpectedly. "You knew him before he went missing."

The acrid scent of smoke and burning was still seared into her nose, as was the sight of Tree Haven in her mind. Dawn look back at her younger brother irritably.

"I don't really think now is the time for questions like that," she replied, then she saw how downcast he looked and added: "Besides, I didn't know him that long. I met him before the last year's hibernation, then he vanished just a few weeks into the spring this year."

Ariel was flying just ahead of them, and Dawn knew that Cassiel was still a touchy subject with their mother and wasn't about to start talking to Shade about him when she was within earshot. Their mother had already been through enough for that day. Earlier that evening Ariel had hurt her wing during the burning of Tree Haven, Dawn had not been around at the time as she'd been roosting higher up in the tree with the other second-years, but Shade had said it had been bad. And it was worrying Dawn, though so far Ariel's flying didn't seem to be slowing.

"Do you think he would have been ashamed?" Shade asked her even more quietly.

Dawn's heart nearly broke at his words. Her poor little brother, only just starting his first migration and already he thought himself a failure.

"No, no, he would have understood," she reassured him, drifting back so that she was flying right beside him.

"Understood that I did something stupid."

"No, understood that you acted impulsively. It wasn't like you took wing with the plan to anger the owls, you didn't mean to do anything wrong," she smiled comfortingly. "Anyway, let's focus on more important things. Are you tired?"

"I'm flying fine," he frowned. "Don't you start again! Mom's been trying to fatten me up for weeks now."

"Oh don't worry Shade, you're doing very well," Ariel said, slowing down to fly with them. "Dawn was much more anxious than you were when she made her first migration last year."

"I was not!" Dawn defended herself hastily, she narrowed her eyes warningly at her brother when he sniggered.

Ariel laughed merrily: "She made me carry her part of way. She was convinced she would run out of energy abruptly and simply fall out of the sky."

"Really? My big tough sister? That's a laugh," Shade grinned at Dawn cheekily, irritating her. But it was good to see him smile after all the colony had been through that evening.

Still, Dawn was just contemplating making an immature remark about the correlation between tiny wingspans with tiny brains when two other bats swooped low overhead. Dawn looked up. Nettle smiled back at her, but Audacia glanced uncertainly at Shade as if he might suddenly catch fire and spit poison.

Dawn sighed; there had been more than a few venomous looks sent her little brother's way that night, but it couldn't be helped after what had happened.

"Yeah, well, talking about big tough sisters," she said to Shade with finality. "This one has got to go now. Catch up with you later, and take care of mom!"

"I will!" Shade called after her as Dawn banked away, before losing sight of him behind others in the colony.

"You feeling homesick yet?" Nettle called as she swooped in to fly beside her.

"No, of course not," Dawn immediately lied. "It was a boring old place anyway, maybe they can find a better roost this time." This too was a lie. As far as Dawn could see, there was no way the colony would ever be able to find a nursery roost as good as Hibernaculum.

"Hmm, well I'm homesick," Nettle replied wistfully. "All those long warm summer nights, the fat tiger-moths, the slow stream down by the fragrant pine trees..."

"The colony will find a new roost next year, and it will be just as good," Dawn answered dismissively.

But the truth was, that the way she saw things, it was easier to lie to herself about how she had felt about the place – well hey, you couldn't miss something you didn't care for, right?

Dawn had cared for Hibernaculum a lot.

...

Hours passed and the weather took a turn for the worse.

"This storm is going to blast my fur off!" Nettle was shouting to be heard over the howling wind.

"Oh, hush! You're doing fine!" Dawn shouted back irritably as the wind snapped at her wings. She could feel the strain in her arms, muscles threatening to give up on her. "I'm more worried about my family, I don't know if Shade's got the wingspan to cope with this storm!"

"You wouldn't be able to help in this weather, just finding him would be a task enough, and you would be falling out of formation. Wait until we veer away from this coastline, then go back and check," Nettle told her. "I'm sure your mother has got it covered."

"My mother's got an injured wing!"

"Well, do what you think is best then. But I still really don't think there would be much you could do in this weather. I'm worried about my own family too, you know!"

Dawn briefly looked back over her shoulder, looking amongst the whirling mass of wings and tried to spot her brother or mother amongst them, but could see no trace. Nettle was probably right, if she flew off course now just to find them she'd be hindering other bats too.

So she didn't go looking. A decision she would later regret.

...

"Gone?! What do you mean, he's gone?" Dawn exclaimed in horror at Ariel's distraught face. "He's...he's not dead, is he?"

"He was snatched away by the wind, I don't know what happened to him," her mother cried. "One minute he was flying next to me, and the next he was just gone! Mercury tried to save him, but it all happened so fast!"

"Are we going to go back and look for him?"

"I've spoken to Frieda," Ariel shook her head sadly. "And her answer is only reasonable. We will slow our migration and delay for a few days, hopefully he'll catch up again once he's got his bearings. To do anything more would be to endanger the colony."

"But what if he's hurt? What if the storm grounded him?"

"Dawn, there is nothing we can do," Ariel shook her head. "We can only hope that he will catch up with us in time."

But when the third night grew in strength and there was still no sign of Shade, Dawn made up her mind.

The colony had come in to roost under an old water tower on their journey, when owls had attacked unexpectedly. The colony had managed to escape by hiding under the material of a moving human vehicle transporting logs. In the chaos that followed as the bats tried to orientate themselves again and seek a new roost, Dawn broke away silently, and began to fly back the way they had came.

As far as she was concerned, she was going to find Shade before daybreak, and then she would bring him back to the colony, safe and well.

Only somehow, instead of playing the hero she found herself the victim within less than an hour.

Dawn quickly came to appreciate the fact that she was lost. The colony had headed off course when they had chosen to roost at the water tower, and in the panic to escape the owls, Dawn realized she didn't even know where that was now.

No sign of Shade, and with no idea where she was, Dawn flew close to despair.

Dawn looked up to the stars, seeking her way, they twinkled distant and cold. They should have been her helpful guides, but they weren't for one simple reason – she had no idea which direction to head. Sure, she knew how to head south, north, east or west but she had no idea where her current position was in relation to anywhere else. And she could see no landmarks that she recognized which she could use to orientate herself.

There was no question as to whether or not she might never find her colony again, Dawn refused to let herself dwell on such thoughts. Logically, or so she told herself, if both she and they were flying southwards then their paths were bound to cross at some point, and if not then she was bound to come across a landmark that she recognized and then finding her colony again would be easy! And by then...maybe Shade would have caught up with the others, and she could tell him all about how her stupid attempt to go back and rescue him had resulted in her becoming lost herself, and he would probably laugh but she wouldn't mind because she would be laughing too.

...

Luck was not on her side.

Several days had passed and Dawn had seen no other bats apart from herself. The only living creatures she had seen on her journey so far were roosting day birds, and once or twice the heart stopping sight of an owl in the far distance.

To make things worse the cold of winter arrived abruptly without warning. Snow began to fall and soon covered the ground. And the cold affected more than simply the temperature, it also affected the bug population. Though there was no competition for food without any other bats around, there was also very little food now to begin with.

Wind once welcomed for gliding was now dreaded for the biting cold it brought with it. Dawn made sure to stick well below the tree line, flying almost at ground level to shelter from the harsher winds.

The forest seemed almost lifeless, at night very little moved at all, and Dawn was alone on her journey, like a ghost she seemed to haunt the landscape, a flying streak of shadow over the white snow below.

Dawn was surprised when the dark waters of a lake stretched out below her in the otherwise uniformly white landscape between the trees. It was not a landmark she recognized, and it wasn't the river - the landmark she _**was**_ currently looking for - but it drew her curiosity nonetheless, and she swooped over it a few times to take a drink from the cold water.

Looking glumly at her reflection in the water below, Dawn was almost able to convince herself that she was not alone, that there was another bat flying beneath her. So when she heard the beating of wings she initially thought she was imagining it. It was only because she caught their reflection in the water that she spotted them:

Owls.

And they were chasing something.

Quickly she darted away from the lake and landed upon a thick branch of an overhanging tree, pressing herself into a small hollow and hoping that they wouldn't see her. Cautiously she peered out, looking down to see what exactly the birds were chasing.

They were chasing a bat in broad moonlight, and after the event at the wood mill, this did not shock Dawn as much as it might have done normally.

It wasn't just any normal bat either, perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but he looked bigger than any bat she had ever seen before. But even so, there were three owls and they were all after him. It was only too clear to her that the owls would kill him if they caught him.

So far though he was doing a good job of evading capture, dodging amongst the tree tops, and even as she watched to her amazement he struck out at one of the owls and knocked it back. But there was something tired about his movements, she could see even from this distance that his wings were torn in places.

Abruptly the big bat dove towards the water, attempting to trick the owls into flying into the lake, he pulled up just in time to avoiding colliding with the water and flew on into the wood. Unfortunately, so did the owls.

"Here! Up here!" she hissed to him, "Hide!"

The big stranger heard her, circling the tree once like a shadow he landed, and scuttled up to the hole in the tree she had found. He was even bigger up close, and Dawn found herself nearly shoved out of the hollow as she had to make room for him to hide. The stranger smelt of blood, and up close she could see an open gash upon his shoulder, his fur was missing in places as if it had been burnt off or pulled out, but she had little time to contemplate this, the owls were a higher priority.

The owls screeched as they flew on past, and then they were gone, flying off into the horizon.

Dawn barely had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief though before a great weight suddenly crushed down upon the back of her neck. For a moment she thought one the owls had doubled back and found her, but then she realized it was the stranger had pinned her like a bug!

"You know, you seem strangely familiar, señorita."


	2. Deal

**Chapter 2**

**Deal**

"That would be kind of hard, seeing as I don't think we've ever met!" Dawn ground back to him through grit teeth. If she hadn't known any better, she'd have sworn she was in the talons of an owl or eagle.

Dawn had never been in a situation like this before. For a moment she actually feared she was going to die. Maybe the rumors that she had heard when she was still a newborn were true, that all bats outside her colony were psychopaths.

The closest she had ever gotten to seeing any other bats from outside her colony before was glimpsing a greenwing colony that had gotten lost the previous year, and had to ask the silverwing elders for directions. It wasn't like she had gotten to speak to any of them.

But now she was kind of glad she hadn't.

Abruptly there was a nearby screech, like that of an owl.

This distracted the stranger long enough for Dawn to wriggle free and fly out of the tree.

He flew after her.

Dawn immediately tried to lose him in the forest. Bringing her wings in close, she dove and used gravity to gain speed.

She then followed a technique she had used when she had still been a newborn playing hide-and-seek with the other youngsters in her colony. Dawn banked, then latching one wing onto a branch, she used her momentum to swing herself up against the trunk of a tree, pressing herself down and stilling to blend in with the bark.

It worked.

Well...it did initially, at least.

The stranger flew past her with ferocious speed, and was gone. But no sooner had she sighed a breath of relief than she heard approaching wing-beats once more. Realizing she was at risk of being caught out in the open, as the hiding technique she was using only worked one in one direction, she began to claw her way up the tree.

When she noticed that she could no longer hear any wing-beats, and fearing her own scrambling was might be heard, she froze to listen.

Silence greeted her.

This didn't reassure her much, but neither did being exposed on a tree trunk where she could easily be spotted by owls and enemies alike; so she continued moving up the tree trunk as quickly and as quietly as she could.

Heaving herself up onto the branch, she found it was already occupied.

Dawn gasped and stumbled back, nearly falling off the branch in the process.

The stranger towered over her, she had never seen anything like him before. Powerful set jaws and fangs more reminiscent of a beast rather than a bat, she would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't scared.

But Dawn had had enough. She was tired, cold and lost, and she was not about to be intimidated by some oversized psychopath who apparently had nothing better to do than terrorise her, even after she had helped him.

"Listen buddy, I don't know what your game is!" she told him. "But I swear, if you don't stop it, I will make such a racket that every owl within this forest will come crashing down on us!"

The big bat did nothing for a few seconds, looking at her strangely, then he began to laugh. Dawn scrambled further along the branch away from him, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I must apologize, I had no intention of scaring you," he replied, recomposing himself. Like the rest of him, his voice was nothing like she had ever encountered before, with an exotic accent and a strangely soothing tone, but Dawn could sense there was something predatory about him. "I mistook you for an enemy."

_What was that even supposed to mean?! _– by this point Dawn had already concluded that the stranger had to be insane.

"Now, where are my manners? I am Goth," he bowed his head to her. "And you?"

"Charmed," she replied sarcastically, ignoring the request for her name. "Now if you don't mind, I've really got to leave."

"I did not mean to frighten you," he said again. "I would _never _intentionally harm a beautiful señorita like yourself. I was confused, you understand, yes?"

She didn't trust him for a moment. He was trying to charm her, his tone completely different from how it had been when he had pinned her. And it might have worked, if it had been the way he had first introduced himself. Dawn also got the impression that he would have been quite handsome, if he hadn't looked like he had recently flown through a forest fire.

"Yeah, well, just make sure it doesn't happen again," she told him, eyeing the skyline for an escape route. "And we'll forget about it." _And hopefully never meet again,_ she thought.

"Of course, señorita," he folded his wings. "But perhaps you would not mind if I asked for directions?"

"Directions? Directions to where?" she asked, already readying herself to fly away. "Are you lost? Sorry, can't help. I'm not familiar with this region either, I'm just passing through."

"As you may have already guessed, I am not from around here," he raised one wing so that she could see a bronze metal band around his forearm that was thick as her neck. "When the humans banded me, they took me North, far away from my home. And now in the midst of winter, I must find a way back. You are traveling south, si?"

"Err..." Dawn looked over him, noting the fresh gash on his shoulder again. "So did the humans do that to you too?"

"What?" he sounded almost affronted, then he his shook his head and asked again. "May I travel with you? Just as far as your colony. It is too cold for me to be out here, you would not have to do much."

Normally she might have considered such a request, probably felt sympathy too. But this crazy guy had just crushed her into a tree and nearly broken her neck, and Dawn was feeling less than charitable towards him.

"No," she told him simply. "I don't think so."

And with that she leapt from the branch, and flew away.

Of course he followed, she didn't expect any less, and to be honest it alarmed her, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

"But señorita, why so cold? All I want is to return to my colony, is that so much?" he called after her.

"Excuse me, but you_ attacked_ me! I'm not helping you," she replied back over her shoulder, she jolted when she saw how close he was.

"I mistook you for another," he replied, and it horrified her how easily he kept up with her, his wing-beats slow and lazy while she frantically made to keep ahead of him. "An enemy. With the owls so near, my mind was elsewhere."

She didn't reply to him, focusing on beating her wings faster in a poor attempt to outfly him. Despite his tattered wings, Goth easily kept up, actually going as far as to block her way several times.

Each time she would swerve and fly off in a different direction, but each time he would be there, waiting.

"Stop that!" she eventually growled. "Let me go! Find someone else to lead you."

"What will you do if you if you are found by an owl?" he flew level with her. "A little northern bat like you all on their own, without your colony? Not very safe, no?"

"Are you threatening me?" she squawked as he blocked her way for the fifth time.

"No. I am offering you a deal," he told her smoothly. "Let me travel with you, and return I will protect you. I've fought my share of these mangy birds."

"Is that why you're so beat up?" Dawn replied dryly.

"Admittedly I have been down on my luck recently," he replied a little irritably. "But owls have been the least of it. I hit a human power line."

That made sense in a way, but the gash on his shoulder was clearly not caused by that, Dawn knew that he had been in a fight recently.

"Why were they chasing you?" she asked.

"Because I kill owls," he grinned with such fierce relish that she almost believed him...it was just that it didn't make any sense. Bats couldn't kill owls.

"Oh, good for you," she answered sceptically, and it was obviously not the answer Goth had wanted because he immediately fell silent and fell back.

"You cannot get rid of me so easily," he told her a few moments later. "You are still traveling southwards, all I need to do is follow you."

There was something dangerous about his voice now, but Dawn was too weary to think much of it. She was by now too tired to argue.

"Fine, travel with me, it's not like I can stop you anyway," she told him reluctantly. "Just keep an eye out for owls and quit blocking my path."

"Of course, señorita, I wouldn't have it any other way."

...

They flew in silence for some time. Dawn was battling unease.

Just where was her colony? Was Shade still alive? Did they think she was dead too now – it wasn't like she had exactly explained what her plan had been when she had set out to anyone – she had thought she would only be gone a few hours.

Everything would be so much easier if she could just find Hibernaculum.

"So how far have you got to go to reach your colony?" she asked eventually, despite her unease it was admittedly nice not to be flying alone anymore.

"Very far away, in the south," he replied. "It will be a long journey, but one that will be worth it."

Dawn couldn't help but smile.

"Tell me about it, there is no place I'd rather see right now than my winter roost," she replied. "And then to sleep for a long time, until all this icy cold is gone."

"You know, I was not alone when I first found myself in this wilderness," he told her casually, he glanced behind them to check the skyline. "I had a companion with me...you wouldn't have happened to see any bats like myself around?"

"I suppose you want to go looking for him?" she asked wearily. Agreeing to let him travel with her was one thing, she wasn't interested in going on a search-and-rescue mission when she needed one herself.

"Actually, no," he replied and grinned viciously again. "We were not close, and technically, he abandoned me to my fate when the owls attacked."

"You were attacked by owls too?" Dawn thought this over for a moment, the owls had attacked her colony unprovoked after all. "What is the owls' Nocturna damned problem anyway? You know, they had guards posted all _over _the last city my colony had to fly over. Have you heard if something is going on?"

"Ah, well, I did hear word that a there was a young silverwing that looked at the sun. Perhaps they owls seek revenge, hmm?"

"Oh, that's common knowledge now..." Dawn replied embarrassed – immediately deciding that she would not share the fact that the law-breaker had been one from her own colony, let alone her own brother. "Didn't the owls already exact revenge? I heard something about they burnt down a silverwing summer roost."

"Maybe they thought it was not enough," Goth suggested.

This sounded only too likely. Dawn sighed, and decided to drop the subject. A bigger problem right now was their destination.

"I think we should find somewhere to land," she announced. "I need to think."

Goth must have picked up on the uncertainty in her voice because he immediately reeled around to fly beside her again.

"Think about what, exactly?"

"Ermm, directions?" she grinned uncomfortably. "We're off course and I need to check where we are."

"Do you know where we are going?"

"Yeah, my colony's winter roost," she knew that much, she was just uncertain exactly where it was. "Hibernaculum."

"Hibernaculum?! But that was..." Goth trailed off and suddenly glared at her, then his expression changed and inexplicably he smiled again. "But you still know the direction south, si? If we just continue flying, we'll fly right out of this wretched cold."

"That's a nice idea in theory," _she also thought it sounded downright stupid_. "But where are we supposed to hibernate?"

"We wouldn't need to. Where I am from, it is warm all year round, no need to sleep the coldest part of the year out," and he smiled charmingly. "Perhaps if we cannot find your colony now, then we can find mine."

"I don't know, your colony sounds awfully far away," Dawn replied uncomfortably.

"Then how about we make another deal. If you help me fly south this winter, you can stay with my colony until the worst of the cold is over."

"That's a big decision to make on the spot," she managed to reply instead of outright telling him **no**.

"This cold calls for hasty decisions, señorita," he told her. "If you do not accept our new deal, then it is likely that neither of us will survive. If we do not find your colony soon, we will both soon freeze."

...

_I've got to be going crazy_, Dawn thought to herself as she continued to fly further south, now without any idea of exactly where she was headed, _this is suicide_! Though perhaps the big bat had a point, it was also very dangerous to stay, what with the risk of starvation and the cold.

"The wind is picking up," Goth called out from somewhere above her, the weather nearly tore away the sound of his voice. "I say we roost!"

"No, I might still be able to catch up with my colony!" she called back over the howling gale. "If you want to stay behind, that is fine with me!"

A particularly bad gust of wind knocked her back so that she collided with Goth.

"You are speaking nonsense," he spoke irritably, the cold apparently having sapped away his earlier charm. "Look at you! With your tiny wingspan, you can barely even fly in this weather!"

"Are you trying to imply that I'm weak?" she shouted back. "I'm flying just fine."

No sooner had she said this than the wind howled again, and she was blown out of the sky and through the treetops.

Reacting out of instinct, Dawn was only able to just avoid tearing her wings in the branches by angling her wings so that she landed 'oh-so-gracefully' into a pile of snow that had built up in the cranny between two large branches.

And it was beyond freezing.

"Urgh!" she cried out, pushing herself out of the snow, so cold that it felt as if her wings had turned to ice.

Dawn heard laughter.

She had just managed to crawl out of the snow when the branch above her dipped and Goth swung around into view.

"You know, you are very amusing," he told her conversationally. "But perhaps it would be best if you saved your jokes for another time."

"Well, where are we supposed to roost?!" she exclaimed in frustration, now too cold to really care.

"I have already spotted a place," he continued on irritatingly. "If you had listened to me before instead of flying into a snow drift, I would have explained, follow me."

Goth took off into the air, knocking further snow off the tree. Dawn frowned as she was nearly buried beneath again, shivering, before she too opened her wings and took off after him.

Dawn quickly found that even high up in trees, there was still a very real possibility of her being blown away, but she was determined not to let herself seem weak and she wordlessly followed after Goth, grumbling and cursing under her breath.

They came to a clearing in the forest. Here there was a number of human structures dotted about the place, old and crumbling, they obviously hadn't been inhabited for some time. Goth still had the lead, flying ahead of her, occasionally looking back to make sure that she hadn't been blown away again. Childishly, Dawn immediately decided to spite him.

She stopped following him, and flew off if a different direction, picking a building of her own liking.

It was a small barn with cracks in its walls. She quickly found her way inside and flew up to the rafters. Dawn's detour hadn't gone unnoticed, Goth was delayed only moments in following her.

Goth roosted on the rafter opposite hers.

"A little cooperation wouldn't go amiss, señorita," he said once he had finished shaking the snow out of his fur.

"The sarcasm could," but Dawn realized she no longer felt as irritable towards the other bat, and was glad for the company after a week of flying by herself. "So what's the plan exactly? We just keep flying south, and eventually you'll find your way back?"

"That's the idea," he told her. "I will know my own way once I stars grow more familiar."

"And it's warmer there? Than here I mean."

"Much warmer," he told her, and something dangerous flashed behind his eyes, though she might have imagined it. "You have _nothing_ to worry about."

"Well, if you say so..."

She could only hope he was telling the truth, her life depended on it.


	3. A Change in Circumstances

**Chapter 3**

**A Change in Circumstances**

When evening came, she realized she was alone in the barn.

Dawn blinked slowly as she tried to process this, mind still lying somewhere between sleeping and waking as she looked around the abandoned building. And it wasn't that she was comfortably half awake, but rather the air was so cold she felt as if she had never been fully asleep, and it left her feeling disorientated.

The last traces light were just disappearing through the cracks in the roof of the barn, indicating evening's departure. Time to fly again.

But where was Goth?

It didn't make any sense. Had she imagined up a companion - having gone crazy from being stuck out in the winter alone?

_No_, she knew he was around somewhere.

Her shoulders were aching from the cold, she stretched instinctively, trying to remember exactly what she was supposed to do now. _Fly, right?_ Yeah, flying sounded good. _Fly where?_ She decided _that_ was not immediately important, best thing to do now was to go outside and have a look around. That strange bat had to be around somewhere.

She flew up through a hole in the ceiling, climbing up out onto the roof. Snow crunched beneath her wings and feet, icy cold. She looked around, scanning the treeline hurriedly for owls. But she saw nothing living the snow laden branches of the conifer trees.

The world around her was scentless and quiet, the cold seemed to have frozen things in time.

Evening looked as if it had only just arrived, _surely Goth hadn't just flown off into broad daylight_? But that was what it was beginning to look like, as she could tell that he had been gone for a while.

There were also a thousand other thoughts bouncing around her head now. Such as, had this actually been a good idea? Sure she had no clue in which direction her colony was, but was flying southwards really any safer? And was Shade okay? Did he ever find his way back to the colony? Or was he wandering lost like she was now, or worse... What if this whole situation just ended with their mother losing both her children?

And once again Dawn found herself wondering if she should just abandon the crazy idea of flying south. Fly in circles, and hope to find Hibernaculum before death found her.

There was a rapid clattering of wings, and Goth abruptly dropped down upon a metal chimney. She caught the scent of blood in the air, crisp in the winter wind, and she saw him flicking away a small grey feather that had gotten stuck to his face.

Somehow though she was still finding it hard to believe he fought owls. The idea seemed so ludicrous as to be almost comical, something newborns would talk about amongst themselves along with spooky stories about haunted roosts and bat-eating tigermoths. Dawn looked around quickly, trying to see where Goth had flown down from, surprised that she hadn't noticed him until he had practically landed; either the cold was beginning to freeze her ears or the other bat was very stealthy.

"I've been waiting for you, senorita," he called down to her to her cheerfully. "Shall we go now?"

Goth was a strange bat to say the least, he seemed to have come from such an extreme background; captured by humans and fighting owls - it was almost as if she was traveling with a figure out of legend. He was not like anyone she'd ever met before, both powerful and bristling with confidence; where any other bat might be freaking out over the mere uncertainty and danger of winter without a permanent roost, he showed little concern. When he spoke he sounded so sure of himself, so in control, and this was a good thing, as she was not feeling confident about the situation at all. It reassured her.

"Just give me a moment," she said as she looked to the stars and picked out their route. It was just a matter of orientating herself now, the sole goal being to head southwards. Whatever obstacles lay in her way, be them mountain ranges or fearsome storms, she knew she'd have to deal with them as they came.

* * *

Where was Dawn?

Now that the whole peace treaty situation had finally calmed down again, now that the owls had left and Hibernaculum was no longer under siege, Shade came to realize that his sister had never come to welcome him back.

He hadn't noticed her absence at first, having been so carried away with all the excitement of his adventures. But now that everything was back to normal, her absence was noticeable. He _had_ seen several of her friends from a distance, but he hadn't yet spotted Dawn with them; and despite his new title as hero, Shade was still a somewhat shy newborn who found the lofty second-yearers too intimidating to simply approach and talk to - so he hadn't asked them where she was either.

"Where's Dawn?" he asked his mother the evening following the agreement of the peace treaty - this was one of the first opportunities he had had to talk to Ariel on her own, as Marina had been a near constant presence. Currently said brightwing was watching Chinook's stupid balancing tricks, not that he _cared_...well, sort of. "I haven't seen her since before the storm."

His mother hesitated in answering, Shade didn't notice this though, he was too busy glaring at where Chinook was currently hanging from a stalactite with one foot - showing off to a small audience. Had everything really reverted to normal so _quickly_? Chinook was the centre of attention again, even though Shade now had the title of hero? _Heh, some world._

"Shade, I don't know how to tell you this, but something happened to your sister while you were gone," Ariel told him.

"Oh, wait, wait, wait! Let me guess! She's paired off already?" Shade laughed and looked around at the bats in Hibernaculum. "Please tell me he's not related to Chinook, and she's forgiven."

Shade knew most second-yearers paired off in the spring, but just before hibernation wasn't unheard of. Even so, he was a little disappointed that she hadn't come to see him in person yet, surely after his dangerous adventures she would be worried about him, right?

"Shade, Dawn is no longer with us," Ariel sighed. "Shortly after you vanished, she disappeared as well. I think she might have gone back to look for you. This was just after the elders agreed that the colony could not go back to search for you."

He felt his heart sink. Everything had been looking up, sure he had been irritated with Chinook and the colony a mere few moments ago but it had been a pleasantly familiar irritation, not anything serious.

"And...no one has seen her since?" he asked tentatively, he already knew the answer, it was only too clear. If Dawn had been seen again then she would be there now.

"No. But don't despair," Ariel wrapped a wing around him. "Like you, she is quite resilient. She could be outside right now, she might be just a few hundred wingbeats away, she is probably making her own way back right now."

"Yeah, I'm sure she's fine," Shade agreed uncertainly. He looked up as he heard someone approaching. Marina had just flown over to join them; Shade was glad to note that Chinook was not with her.

"Bad time?" she asked after seeing their sombre expressions.

"No, stay, Marina," Ariel said. "You're always welcome here, you are one of us now."

"My older sister has gone missing," Shade explained to the brightwing. "No one's seen her since shortly after I got caught in that storm."

"I'm sure she'll turn up sooner or later," Marina immediately reassured him.

"There is also a possibility that the owls may have gotten her," Ariel explained mournfully. "On the night she went missing, we were attacked. She vanished in the confusion without a word."

"But there's a chance she might had just gone looking for me, right?" Shade asked, his old hatred of owls threatening to rise up again. He managed to force it back down again by thinking of Orestes and the new peace treaty that had just been made. Things had changed.

"Like I said before, we can only hope she will return on her own accord. Till then, we must consider life as it is. Winter is already on us. Soon, we will need to hibernate."

* * *

They were crossing open fields now, a few leafless trees and shrubs were dotted about the sparse land, dark against a thin blanket of snow. In the distance, lights lit up the horizon in an artificial day, indicating the presence of an immense human city overrunning the valley ahead.

"So earlier, were you looking for your friend? The one you said went missing?" she asked as they flew.

"He was more of an _acquaintance_," Goth commented, Dawn couldn't help but notice how he seemed to draw the last word out, it was clear the two hadn't been friends. "And, unfortunately, my brother-in-law. It's only for my sister's sake that I thought of searching for him at all."

"You quite close to your family then, your sister? You must be missing them," she said sadly, thinking of her own family.

Goth paused, as if considering whether or not he wanted to share this information, but then he smiled easily. "Let's just say my sister is not of the mildest temperaments, she will blame me for the loss of her mate. But in the end, she should be grateful, Throbb was not a wise match."

Dawn didn't know what to say to that, this was obviously something personal to Goth, and she had never met the bats he was talking about.

When Dawn picked up on the sound of a thudding engine she didn't think much of it. Planes, while rare, had flown over the forest on occasion back at Tree Haven during the summer. They were a strange oddity which were somehow associated with humans, but were not bird nor beast, and possibly not even alive. But that was all planes were, an oddity to see once and then ignore in the future.

Goth though, didn't share this view.

Abruptly he dropped out of the air like a bird of prey.

"Hey, where are you going?" she called after him. She looked around hurriedly, half expecting to see a host of owls chasing them. When she saw nothing but empty snow covered fields, and the small plane puttering away in the distance, she was confused.

"Get out of sight!" Goth hissed from somewhere below in boughs of a lone tree. Dawn dropped down as well, but only to find out what the big fuss was about, she still had no idea what they were trying to avoid.

"What's got your fur all ruffled?" she asked landing upon the same branch as Goth. He didn't answer her, ears focused on the distant whirring of the small plane, the sound of which was now diminishing as it flew further away.

"Why are we hiding?" she demanded a bit more loudly. "Is there something after us?"

"After me," Goth corrected her. "The humans' metal bird."

"Metal bird?" Dawn honed her own hearing on the fading sound of the plane.

"I was transported north in one of them," Goth snarled after the plane, by he seemed to have calmed down somewhat now. "I remember the sound only too well!"

...

Once they reached the city, they briefly parted ways to go hunting, agreeing to meet back on top of a tall building with fluttering flags on its side. Goth claimed to have had already eaten that evening, but Dawn hadn't and she wasn't traveling anywhere until she caught a few bugs at least.

The amount of bugs in the city area pleasantly surprised her, and as she flew about snapping up the crane-flies and mosquitoes she could help but notice the air here wasn't quite as icy as it had been in the forest. And the thought did occur to her, after having slept in the cold with so little food for the past few days, whether it might be a good idea to stay here a day or two before continuing the journey south.

It was with this thought that she inspected a few of the buildings she passed, noticing many nooks and crannies sheltered from the wind which could make good warm roosts. Though she saw no sign of any other bats there were a few sleepy pigeons that ignored her. It was just her and the bugs in the air. The idea of staying a few days began to form to one lasting till spring.

'_Oh what do I do, what do I do!?' _she asked herself over and over. _'Do I just continue traveling south? What if it leads me nowhere and I'm just flying in the cold forever until I die?_'

Perhaps she could winter away in the city, and then fly north when spring arrived once more. The only two times she had been over a human city before was with her colony, and they had never stayed long. And though there would never have been enough bugs at this time of year in the city to support an entire colony, there were enough to sustain one bat; namely herself.

It was tempting idea to stay.

And this solution seemed so simple. She wouldn't have to risk flying to an unknown destination - possibly dying on the way or never finding the place - and in staying here it was entirely feasible that she would be able to make it back next spring. Flying further increased the risk of her losing her way back altogether, and if Goth was telling the truth about the stars in the North being unreadable to him then it was likely the stars in the South would be unreadable for her.

This was a risky situation, and Dawn really didn't like risks.

So after snapping up a few more slow crane-flies, she headed back to the building she had agreed to meet Goth at. They hadn't agreed on a time, so she planned to just wait there until he turned up. Flying her way over though, she spotted him on her way, gliding silently over the rooftops. He was hunting, skimming close to the roofs, keen eyes searching the shadows for movement.

Suddenly he dropped from the air, and a few seconds later she heard the hysterical squealing of a mouse, which Goth now had trapped in his claws.

She flinched, she had almost forgotten, Goth had told her the night before that he ate meat.

"Uh, Goth?" Dawn asked tentatively as she landed nearby. He turned, releasing his hold on the mouse; which Dawn was relieved to see then scamper away out of sight.

"Hola, senorita," he called out to her. "You finished your hunt, no?"

"Well...yeah," Dawn, looked away and thought about how she was going to redirect the conversation. "There is a surprising amount of food here, I always thought that human cities were barren places."

"No concrete jungle could ever rival the promise of my homeland," said Goth simply. "Will you lead the way now, senorita?"

It was going to be awkward to say, but it needed to be said. Dawn did not want to continue this blind journey any further!

"I want to stay here," she announced.

For a few moments Goth just stared at her.

"You joke?" he asked quizzically.

"It's too risky to continue flying, I have no idea where we're going other than south. With every wingbeat we fly further away from my home," she told him assuredly. "If I can outlast winter here, then I will."

Goth narrowed his eyes.

"We had a deal," he never raised his voice, but this was somehow just as menacing.

"An agreement," she corrected uncomfortably. "But circumstances have changed."

"So your word meant nothing? You northern bats have no honor," he was no longer crouched but standing, towering over her, head reared back angrily.

"Hey, I'm being realistic. This is a matter of life and death, honor has no place here," she tried to reason; standing her ground. "And it's not like I'm abandoning you. Just stay a few days here, there's enough food around. Let me teach you the northern constellations, then you won't need me as your guide."

Goth was obviously not impressed with this proposition, if his scowl was anything to go by.

"Obviously you need time to think," he told her coldly. "You know, there are creatures out here that will eat small animals, like mice, and like you. If you choose to stay here, you will be on your own. Speak to me in a few hours, till then, think wisely about your next decision."

And with that he took off into the air.

...

Dawn actually felt quite guilty. But the truth was, _and this she argued with herself_, she had never actually promised anything.

In times like these she needed to think of herself first, and if Goth seriously wanted to return to his home then he could damn well tough it out in the city for a few days until he learnt the northern stars for himself. She'd still be helping him, it was a win-win situation. If only he wasn't so damn impatient...

If she stayed here she could start the search for her colony again as soon as spring arrived. There were many places to roost here, roosts sheltered from the wind and warmer than the woods. There was also food here, and she doubted there was anything that might try to hurt her living in the area. The only large animals - ignoring the presence of the humans in the streets far below - she'd seen in this city were pigeons, and she'd never heard of pigeons attacking bats. Owls rarely left the woods where they hunted, so she doubted she'd see any of them here either.

So it was relatively safe here, and staying was the safest option.

It would be stupid to do anything else, she told herself.

Sighing she shivered and looked out from the roof top. The city stretched out before her in every direction, lit up from below in dazzling light, almost as if it were day. Was this similar to what Shade had seen when the sun had risen? She wondered, then quickly redirected her thoughts. If she was staying here she'd be able to gaze at the human lights whenever she wanted, but right now she needed to figure out how to sort things out.

Maybe she could make Goth see sense, he'd be able to travel faster on his own.

There was a noise nearby. The skittering of claws upon rock, followed by silence.

"Goth?" she called out.

There was no response, but Dawn wasn't particularly worried. It was probably a sleepy pigeon or another mouse. Just to be safe though, she clicked several echoes. The first volley bounced back revealing nothing living, but on the second she caught sight of a long narrow tail. A mouse?

Mice weren't dangerous as far as she knew, so she lost interest and looked back out at the city. It was only when the skittering of claws abruptly started up again that she looked back and saw the owner of the tail bolting towards her.

The creature was much bigger than she expected.

Not a mouse at all, but a rat!

She hesitated for a split second. Dawn had never heard of rats attacking bats before, but one was attacking her now and that was all there really was to it.

Instinctively she lept off the roof, spreading her wings to take to the air.

"You'll not escape, spy!" it shrieked at her.

It should have been easy to escape, rats couldn't fly, but she hadn't reacted quickly enough. When the rat lept it caught the thick fur upon her shoulders in its teeth and held on. Dawn was already in the air by this point, but rat was both bigger and much heavier than she was, and as soon as she had that extra weight upon her back she plummeted from the air.

Dawn managed to slow her fall by angling her wings upward, she redirected her path towards another rooftop rather than the ground far below, but she was still falling fast.

Her left wing took the brunt of the force when she crash-landed upon a lower rooftop. The rat had let go of her at the last moment, falling to land a small distance away, but it didn't seem quite as badly affected by the fall as she was because it immediately rolled to its feet and began to advance towards her once more. Dawn scrambled up, putting on a brave front, she faced the rat.

"What's the meaning of this?" she snapped, ignoring the stinging ache in her left shoulder. "You had no reason to attack me!"

"You don't fool me, spy, I know the black owls near!" the rat spat hysterically.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dawn replied honestly. Black owls? The only owls she had ever seen were snowy grey and brown. She began to back away from the rat, readying herself to try flying again, but she could tell her left wing was hurt and she had no idea how bad the damage was.

"Don't lie! I know you're spying for them, feeding them smaller beasts!" the rat continued. "It's unnatural! You think that because we smaller beasts are not as big as wolves that we will just go down without a fight?"

Just then a piece of the night itself appeared to break and fall away from the sky above, like a shadow Goth silently swooped down through the air and pounced upon the rat.

There was a sharp crack, and the rat stopped moving.

It was over so fast that Dawn barely had time to blink.

In retrospect, she knew she should have felt gratitude - Goth had just saved her life - but at the time, looking at the crumpled form of the rat, the only thought that passed through her mind was: "_That could have been me!_"

Dawn had to get away, she was reminded in that moment that Goth was a dangerous and unknown entity, what if he was angry at her?! But as soon she tried to lift her injured wing she cried out, the sudden pain shocking in its intensity.

"I can't fly!" she exclaimed aloud in a panic, so horrified, so shocked by the prospect that she couldn't think of anything else.

To be grounded was to be immobilized, to be grounded was to starve, _to be grounded was death_!

And Goth looked back at her vacantly, as if from a great distance. Whatever his thoughts were on this, she couldn't even begin to guess.

* * *

_**A/N**_: _So I finally managed changed the title of the story (I never planned to keep the old one), not that the new title is any more creative than the last, meh. For those who haven't read the books, the "black owls" refers to Goth and Throbb, as the rats had been fed incorrect information and think that silverwings have banded together with owls. While I'm keeping within the TV series universe, I may pick a few small details here and there from the book to include in the story as long as they don't contradict each other._

_I feel as if I kind of rushed this chapter, but honestly its been sitting in my files so long I felt I had to publish it already._

_Thanks for the faves and reviews! :)_


	4. Flightless

**Chapter 4**

**Flightless**

When Goth had first found the lone silverwing, he had been certain that it was Shade.

He didn't know why the sly little runt would follow him, and he hadn't cared, in that moment all he saw was a chance for revenge. It was only when he got closer that he realized the bat he had trapped was not the silverwing he had thought it was. And then he had realized the opportunity he had. Here was a new guide, one that didn't know of his kind, one that could lead him back home. He would get his revenge on Shade someday, perhaps he would return the next summer with bats from his kingdom to wreak havoc on all those who had dared spite him, but right now that line of thought was not top priority. He knew he was strong, both in body and spirit, but even he could only last so long in this climate. Another few weeks here, and he would probably die.

So Goth reused the same tactic as he had when he had first met Shade and Marina, he played the charmer. Things had gotten off to a bumpy start with the early near-fatal mix-up, but the little silverwing's initial hostility had quickly melted away. It was obvious to him that she was scared of traveling alone.

Goth had latched onto this weakness as soon as he had noticed it. He knew how to use bravado, and he knew those lesser to him flocked to it like moths to light.

But then the silverwing had decided to test his patience.

It took a lot to make Goth lose his temper, but as of recently he had found his usual reserve much more easily strained. But he remembered how quickly Shade and the brightwing had fled once they had realized what he was. Threats _could_ work, but the last time that he did this the smaller bats had fought back with such convincing lies and wit, that they had made it practically impossible to cooperate. If this little bat in turn decided that she distrusted him, she would surely seize the first opportunity she could to flee; and this was not something he wanted to risk. It was only because she somewhat trusted him now that she had returned to tell him of her planned betrayal, rather than simply leaving. Threats would break this feeble trust.

Threats and intimidation would be his last resort, but a resort he would take if necessary.

It would all be much easier if she simply cooperated, and he could continue to play friendly traveler until he no longer needed her.

But now...now she couldn't fly.

The thought of simply ending the matter there and then by killing her did cross his mind. But this was too risky, Goth hadn't seen or heard any other bats since the icy river had torn him away from Hibernaculum, and he knew that northern bats were normally hidden away at this time of year, asleep and out of sight. If he lost this guide his chances of finding another one were slim, especially one that would willingly travel south. But staying here until the silverwing had recovered enough to fly again seemed like a grueling choice.

He knew there was an option which required no patience, he could fly for her. It wasn't perfect, he didn't want to carry her, it would slow his flying and tire him faster; but in this situation this seemed like a small matter.

Right now the little silverwing was trembling, frozen in place as if afraid that moving would hurt her, and she was looking at him, terrified, as if it were he who had damaged her wing. He still had no idea how bad the damage was, and knew he had to be careful in how he approached the problem; if he came off as too concerned he might make her suspicious but if he was too callous she might panic and resent him.

He knew that little birds sometimes died from panic, they had done so before when they were still wriggling in his talons – he wondered if the same was true for little bats.

"Is it that bad?" he asked. She looked away from him and down at her wing.

"I think so," she said quickly. "Maybe if I rest-"

"Then something else might come looking," he said before she could weasel her way out of the situation. "Rats sometimes eat their food alive if it's too weak to fight back."

"Well what do you suppose I do?" she snapped fearfully, a little anger tingeing her voice. Anger was good, he didn't want to deal with a despairing silverwing. He had no time or patience for that. The sooner he got back to the jungle, the better.

"You could roost somewhere high so they cannot reach you," this wasn't meant to be a helpful suggestion; convincing her that she couldn't stay was the goal.

The little bat looked as if she was about to agree with him, but then her eyes narrowed as she realized the implications of his suggestion.

"And exactly how am I supposed to get up there?!"

"You think that I would abandon you?" he questioned as if shocked. "I can be your wings for as long as you need." And he would not give her a choice, she knew that if he left her she was good as dead. Goth would continue flying southward, and she would be his guide for as long as he needed her.

"You're going to stay here?" she asked, hopeful.

"We're flying south," he told her, keeping his voice level so that it sounded like a statement rather than a demand, make it sound as if it was he who was going out of his way to help her. "If I were to leave you here you'll surely be eaten, or starve. You northern bats are not very big, I believe I can carry you without issue."

She looks uncertain, nervous, frightened; then she seemed to gather her courage together.

"Alright," she agreed determinedly, but he could see the fear behind her brave facade. "We'll continue flying south. You have my word."

* * *

Her frantically beating heart felt as if it was threatening to escape her chest, Dawn knew panicking wasn't going to help the situation but it was hard not to. Honestly, she wanted to cry. Her newest plan to get back home had just crumbled right in front of her, she couldn't stay here, she couldn't even fly!

But Goth still needed to travel south and he was offering to fly for her, to keep her alive, in exchange.

She was so glad she was not alone.

"May I look?" he asked, indicating her injured wing.

"I'd rather you didn't," she protested, shuffling back a step.

"How bad is it?" he asked bluntly. "Is your wing broken?"

"I don't know," she mumbled fearfully. "I don't want to think about it."

Goth moved forward, this time not asking for her permission, he clasped the wrist of her injured wing gently to hold her still. Dawn didn't protest, just wincing slightly as she felt the tips of claws ghost over her shoulder. She stayed still as he examined her wing.

"It's not broken," he confirmed to her relief. "Try unfurling your wing."

"I don't want to," she replied nervously.

"Well, my little wounded bird, you need to," he told her simply. "I can fly for you, but how will you hold on with only one wing?"

Dawn relented.

"Fine," she flexed the fingers on her injured wing briefly, they moved just fine, her shoulder still protested painfully at the movement though. But Goth seemed satisfied with the result.

"Then let us leave this place."

...

Though they were no longer over the city, there were still many human structures dotted about the place. Larger quieter buildings that appeared to breathe mist into the air lay ahead. With sunrise only an hour or so away now, they dove down amongst these buildings in search of a roost. One such building had its great windows pushed ajar to allow a large pipe through, there was easily enough room for Goth to fly through – even so the experience was nerve-wracking for Dawn who feared she might be knocked off into the snow below.

Landing proved to be somewhat awkward.

Goth perched upside down, and Dawn couldn't quite reach the ceiling from where she was. But rather than wait until this could be corrected, Dawn tried to climb backwards, rather quickly, but flying or not this still required her to use her wings. She slipped and tried to catch her grip with her injured wing. And that hurt.

Instinctively she let go. The next moment she found herself hanging in mid-air, Goth having caught her by the leg before she could fall far.

"You are persistent little creature," he chuckled. "But perhaps not very wise, what do you hope to prove?"

"That I'm not a lost cause," she said, giving up on saving her dignity, there was none left anyway – she was a flightless bat! "That I'm still alive!"

"You won't remain so if you fall," he remarked, pulling her back up again. For a moment she was flush against him and Dawn felt her face heat at the unexpected closeness. Goth seemed completely oblivious, waiting patiently for her to find her own foothold before letting go of her.

Without warning his head snapped up, sniffing at the air.

"Throbb was here," he suddenly announced, looking around the cavern.

"Who?" she knew he'd mentioned the name before.

"My brother-in-law, he was here," Goth frowned. "I will be gone only a short time, wait here."

"Okay," Dawn replied as he flew away, then added irritably; "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

_Pfft, couldn't fly..._

She waited patiently at first, then impatiently as time dragged on. She tried to sleep, but unfamiliar with her surroundings, alone and unable to fly, she felt too uneasy to close her eyes. Dawn began counting the cracks on the ceiling out of boredom.

Several more minutes ticked by.

Sighing, she looked around the cavern for something to do. She couldn't go far without flying, but Dawn decided she would have a look around while she was waiting for Goth to return.

Her wing was no longer hurting insistently but it still ached painfully whenever she tried to use it, this included climbing. But it wasn't as bad as flying, climbing was bearable, so Dawn was able to move away from the spot she'd been left. And if she held her injured wing to her chest, she could half hobble half shuffle, moving awkwardly but still moving. She wanted to explore, having never been in a human building like this before.

About five minutes later, Dawn had moved into a completely different cavern within the building. Here she could hear a strange rumbling sound like many waterfalls hidden deep beneath the ground. There were a few humans in this room too but it was such a big cavern and they were so far down below her she didn't fear their presence – even so she made sure to keep out of sight.

She explored a little further, shuffling quietly along the wall, using a small ledge upon the side to climb on. Some of the strange artificial structures that made the noises were built into the wall too, and Dawn could climb directly over them. On her way she found a few small moths caught in cobwebs, she ate these hurriedly, trying to reassure herself that she could still obtain food for herself.

Deciding she had seen enough, Dawn began to make her way back to where she had came. Flying would have been faster, easier, but she didn't have that option, and had to climb her way back, which was again uncomfortable. Distracted with this discomfort, and unfamiliar with the area, she found herself in a different cavern having taken a wrong turn.

This new cavern was empty and cold, at one end there was a great opening through to the outside. She thought this room was empty too, but she was wrong. Dawn smelled them before she saw them, and hurriedly flattened herself against the wall, holding her breath. She knew owls were blind in the nose, they could not smell a thing, but their hearing was just as good as any bat's, their sight phenomenol, and the slightest move could give away her position.

"That's what I was informed," one of the owls said to the other. "A treaty, agreed upon by General Brutus himself."

"But doesn't make any difference to the hunt, right?" asked the other. "There have been sightings here only today, it might just be pigeon talk, but I won't feel safe until they are all exterminated!"

"The same here, my hatchlings have long since learnt to fly but they are still new to this world, I don't even want to think of them coming across such unnatural flyers," the third owl hooted diligently.

Dawn listened with increasing horror, she realized they had to be talking about bats!

"General Brutus is of the same mind set," said the first owl. "Which is why we will not stop this hunt until we are certain they are gone. The two of you need to inform Hercules' squadron as soon as possible, so that in turn all squadrons westward and eastward of here are on high alert. I must return north now to inform the general that I have passed on the message. Good hunting to you."

"Good hunting," the other two replied.

With that, the largest of the owls took off into the night air, leaving the cavernous building.

This was bad, Dawn knew, from what she could understand, the birds were talking about hunting bats, and not just that, but genocide! She'd heard the word treaty but discarded it without much thought, knowing that it probably involved some pact between more owls.

Even she was certain the messenger owl had left, and Dawn waited until the other two owls had finished ruffling their feathers in preparation for flight and had left. Only then did she allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief, when Goth suddenly dropped down beside her.

"Ack!" she yelped before she could stop herself.

"Senorita?" he questioned, sounding a little irritated.

"How are you so quiet?!" she questioned shocked, then hurriedly shook her head in impatience. "Doesn't matter. There are owls around here, I think they're hunting us!"

Goth looked out towards the opening to the outside world, listening. Dawn shuffled closer to him, knowing he was her only method of escape should the owls return.

"They were speaking about finding bats, it sounded like genocide!" she added hurriedly. "Why would they do that? We've lived in the forests just as long as they have. What could they possibly gain from killing us?!"

_How could this have all stemmed from just one curious newborn wanting to just glance at the sun?! It was absurd!_ Dawn couldn't help but feel partially responsible. Maybe that morning if she'd been hunting with Shade - or at least keeping an eye on him - rather than gossiping with other morose second-yearers, none of this would have ever happened.

"Don't worry, they are gone now, and they do not know we are here," Goth reassured her. "Come with me now, this place is too cold."

"Did you find Throbb?" she asked him, as they left the cold cavern behind.

"Eh? No, he's already moved on," Goth said. "But he was here only hours ago. Maybe we will catch up with him."

Goth landed upon the horizontal top surface of a boiler this time, so it was easier for Dawn to climb down. He lept back up the wall, when she began to climb up after him he offered her a hand.

"Allow me to be of assistance, senorita," he said. "It is the least I can do."

"Erm, thanks," she replied uncertainly as she took his hand. She felt his claws encircle her wrist, then Goth lifted her as if she was weightless. "You're really strong," she muttered.

He flashed her a charming grin; Dawn hurriedly looked away in embarrassment.

"Tell me more about your home," she coughed to break the awkward silence. Goth was unlike anyone she had ever met, having spent much of her life in Tree Haven she was used to the worrying of mothers and the immature groaning of newborns (and second-years more often than not). If they were to be traveling together, it would probably be a good idea to know a little more about him and their destination.

"The jungle is always a lush green, not the faded blue grey of the trees here," Goth eagerly delved into the topic right away. "The canopy is splashed with color, the forest so warm and the air so thick you could glide on it for many hours with barely the twitch of a wing. And there was good hunting, food as far as the eye could see."

"Are there any bugs?" she asked tentatively. "You know, for me? If I'm gonna be spending the winter there I'm gonna need to eat."

Goth looked at her, as if amused. "I don't think you will need to worry about that, senorita."

"Oh, that's good," she tilted her head to look at him. "You know, I've never heard of bird-eating bats before. The owls would be in uproar if they knew of your existence," she told him almost accusingly, but there was awe in her voice and she was sure he was picking up on it because he was smiling in a self-satisfied way again.

"There is no fear of owls where I am from, bats fly whatever hour they choose," he told her proudly.

"Sounds like paradise," Dawn murmured tiredly.

"Oh, I'm sure once you are there, you will never want to return here."

"So if the bats are bigger in the south, does that mean the bugs are bigger too?" she asked, imaging giant moths and beetles.

"Yes, we have larger bugs, ones worthy of eating," he boasted.

"So are the owls there larger too?" she logically assumed.

Goth grinned.

"Not really, in fact some are much smaller," he told her. Dawn smiled at the idea of little owls, it wasn't that she didn't believe him, the idea was just amusing.

"Smaller than me?" she asked hopefully.

Goth looked at her with one eye, then shook his head. "Not quite so small."

"Oh well," Dawn shrugged. "There goes my plans of chasing them around for a change."

"There might be a chance yet," he laughed. "So, how did you end up out here? You never told me your story."

"My story?" she said, _what harm was there in telling him_? "Well, this was my second year migrating, I made the journey last year no problem, and it would have been the same this year if it hadn't been for _complications_."

"Such as?"

"My younger brother was blown off course," she said bitterly. "There was a storm. I decided to go back for him, but I lost my way. Some hero I turned out to be. Anyway, in the end I had to concentrate on just finding my own way back, but that didn't exactly work out either."

"Blown off course...hmm. Your brother, what was his name?" Goth asked curiously.

"His name _is_ Shade," Dawn said quietly. She noticed Goth abruptly tense up, _did he know that Shade Silverwing was the one that had broken the law_? "He was small for his age, not a strong flyer. I hope he had more luck than I did in finding the colony, but when I think of it realistically...how likely is it that a young silverwing, on his first migration, could possibly survive on his own?"

Goth was quiet for a moment, and Dawn worried that he would now blame her indirectly for starting the war, simply by being related to Shade who hadn't even meant to start anything to begin with.

"Have more faith in your brother, senorita," Goth surprised her with the warm encouragement in his voice. "If he was related to you, I'm sure he held some wit about him."

"You think so?" she replied quietly, then sighed. "He was the silverwing that looked at the sun. That's why the owls are after all bats now, but they would have just taken any excuse to start a war, they probably would have taken affront even if the elders had handed him over to them."

"Then perhaps the bats should rise up against them," Goth suggested.

"What?" she asked surprised.

"There are more of us than there are of them. If all bats were to band together, the owls would not stand a chance," he continued, placing a claw upon her shoulder. She could practically feel the power in his voice, and it was contagious. Every word so convincing that in that moment they seemed undeniably true. "In my home, we would not stand for such treatment!"

"Well then I wish I was born there instead," she exclaimed. "To be so strong, and powerful, and-and...carefree!"

Goth simply chuckled, looked ridiculously pleased with himself.

"My name is Dawn, by the way," she said shyly. "Sorry for not introducing myself sooner."

* * *

_A/N: So apparently, even when I do have spare time, my updating schedule is all over the place :P_

_Anywho, I think I may go over the first chapter again since I feel I dove too quickly into the story without building on Dawn's personality enough first. That won't delay the release of the next chapter though, I've already nearly finished the first draft :)_


	5. Mistake

**Chapter 5**

**Mistake**

_1 month before..._

The jungle air was heavy with the humidity rising off the trees, the sun was setting, just a glimmer of orange upon the horizon beneath a dark red sky, when Goth and Throbb flew forth to inspect the anomaly.

_"Sir, a human encampment has established itself just west of here,"_ he had been told by a young scout named Murk. _"Should the colony go on the alert?"_

This question would normally have gone straight to his father, but the king had not been seen since the early that morning; it was believed he had been delayed in a reconnaissance mission south of the rainforest's edge, and it was unknown when he would return. In a normal situation, in the absence of his father, the message would then most likely have been relayed to the elders, possibly even Voxzaco. But this scout was young and new to his rank, and Goth could tell that he was no yet familiar with the hierarchical system. Not that he minded, in fact, Goth didn't mind at all.

Goth had never seen humans up close before, it was rare for them to venture so deep into the jungle. This simple curiosity would later be his downfall, as he made the fateful decision to go and assess the encampment himself, rather than send the scout back. Phoenix had at first agreed to fly with him, but she had then changed her mind.

"The king is still missing, and I grow concerned," she told him as another vampyrum flew up to join them. "Throbb will travel with you in my place. I feel it is my responsibility to assist in the search efforts."

Goth was not concerned in the least about the king's absence, it would not be the first time the ruling vampyrum had disappeared for more than a day. No, his main focus was on the fact that one of his least favorite bats in the entirety of the kingdom had just alighted on the branch opposite him, and was now smiling confidently up at him as if they were equals. _Equals?!_

He couldn't help but sneer at Throbb.

Phoenix noticed this.

"Do you have a problem with **my** choice?" she questioned him waspishly.

"Of course not," Goth lied through gritted teeth. "He is a _good_ choice."

Phoenix's eyes flashed warningly.

Merely saying he did not mind Throbb being around wouldn't change anything though, Phoenix knew that he was lying and Goth didn't care. Throbb was a vampyrum that, up until a couple of weeks ago, had gone completely unnoticed by Goth, simply due to his insignificance. But now Goth couldn't help but notice whenever the other was nearby; Throbb was like a mosquito, always around and ever irritating.

Wordlessly, Phoenix dropped down from the tree and took off back towards the pyramid.

And so, without a choice, Goth and Throbb set off to examine the new change in their homeland. If Goth had been his father, the king, he might have hesitated in visiting such an anomaly, and perhaps sent scouts instead. But Goth was not the king, he lacked the cautious restraint of an elder, and the knowledge of outsiders in his home.

Throbb was descended from a fairly high ranking family but he lacked their prestige, instead he was known for being a slow flyer, clumsy and soft. But he had been born the year previous to Goth, and was a little wiser to the world, being that it just so happened he had seen a human encampment before: a logger's camp.

So when the two of them flew over the encroached site, it was Throbb – not Goth – who knew something was wrong.

"This is different, where are the metal machines? The fallen trees?" he wondered aloud.

Goth snarled in irritation at the other vampyrum's voice, but Throbb was not intimidated. If there was anything that Goth might give him credit for, it was the fact that his brother-in-law was not a coward. But at the same time he found this aggravating; he wanted Throbb to fear him. Though perhaps this was optimistic, Throbb might have been simply too stupid to be respectful.

Circling at the edges of the camp, the scent of terrified animals was thick in the air. This was confusing as the scent did not seem to originate from any one particularly species, but a whole multitude at once. And he could not see them, only now and then would he pick up the sound of a frightened beast or the warbling of a nervous bird.

"Goth, we should go back," Throbb continued. "These could be poachers."

He spoke too late, not a second later the two of them had flown into an invisible web hidden amongst the lowest branches of the trees. The netting got tangled up in their wings, the more he struggled the more entangled Goth became. Cursing, spitting and snarling, Goth was pulled from the human web by hands that were covered in a thick material, so tough that he could not bite through.

They were then thrown into a metallic container with barely enough room to move, and no view to the outside world but a few puncture holes. They were kept like this for hours. The box heated under the sun, they had no access to food or water. But they never gave up on trying to escape.

By the time the box was finally moved, both bats were weak from exhaustion. There was some time between then and when they next saw the outdoors, there was an interval in which the crate was tossed and thrown around as if it was bobbing in a river. They were moving over land.

When the box was finally opened, it was to the sight of two huge grasping hands once more.

They fought back again, but it was futile.

They were shoved into another crate, this one was better ventilated and did not feel like the inside of a hungry beast, but it smelt of a strange sharp scent that had Goth recoiling and gasping for air, as it stang at his nose and made his eyes water. It was a scent he would later come to associate with captivity, something the humans used in and around his prison.

The two vampyrum were transported north.

* * *

_Present..._

When it came time to leave the building again, the low temperature still came as a nasty shock, even though Dawn had known it was still going to be cold outside. It was actually hard to believe that they would eventually fly out of this cold, but Goth didn't seem like the suicidal type so Dawn trusted him. She wondered if he trusted her, probably not after she had tried to ditch him at the city.

"I'm sorry," she said to Goth.

"Hmm?" he looked back at her, confused.

"About how I've been acting," she explained, feeling somewhat ashamed. "We're in exactly the same situation. We're both far from home, lost, and cold. I was acting selfishly, and if the situation had been reversed, well I wouldn't be happy either."

"Señorita, no apology is needed," he grinned. "I only hope that I did not frighten you back at the city. This cold hasn't been easy on my patience."

"It was understandable if you're annoyed. I was being selfish, I just wanted to save myself. I mean, what would you have done if I had left? You might have frozen. I wasn't thinking straight, I was just scared."

"You are not the first northern guide I've traveled with," he admitted.

"What happened to them?" she asked.

"They lied and deceived me," he told her savagely, but then his voice turned silky and soothing once more: "They were not like you of course, but you must understand why I may have reacted badly when you said you wished to stay here."

"Must have been pretty bad," she replied warily, unable to prevent herself from wondering if Goth had done something nasty to them. "What happened exactly? If you don't mind sharing, that is..."

"I do not mind, señorita," he said, sounding actually happy to share the story. "It all began when I and my brother-in-law escaped from the humans. We had not traveled far when we came across two little bats, they were on the run from an owl. We stopped and saved them, and they agreed to travel south with us. But not a day later, they abandoned us."

"They just...vanished?"

"They decided we were cursed," Goth explained. "We were both banded, and they were superstitious. And after an argument over the significance of the bands, the two told us they were going to drink from the stream, that they would return. But I saw them fleeing the valley, they had no intention of returning."

"One of the elders in my colony is banded, she's had a band for years," Dawn mentioned. "She's never suffered any bad luck. I don't think they're a curse."

Truth be told Dawn hadn't even thought about Goth's band since she had first noticed it, she'd assumed there was nothing out of the ordinary about it. It was mysterious, but then again so was everything about Goth.

"They are a shackle by the humans, a sign of imprisonment," Goth agreed. "But they didn't keep me imprisoned for long."

"But that's not the whole story, is it? How did you get separated from Throbb?" she asked curiously.

Goth paused for a while, as if thinking this over. "We were attacked by owls," he said simply.

Dawn was just about to question the lengthy time it took him to respond with such a short answer when she realized there might be another reason for his slow reasoning. The cold was getting to him, Goth was shivering.

"The _winter_," Goth growled. "I never imagined it was possible for it to get so cold! So cold that water turns to stone!"

"We call it ice," Dawn told him. "Normally we wouldn't see it yet, the weather usually doesn't get this bad for several weeks more, and by then most of us are asleep."

"In the jungle it is the opposite," he laughed. "It gets so warm that water turns to mist."

"That sounds painful," Dawn winced.

"It's not. The forest is not as dry as it is here," he reassured her.

Dawn looked up suddenly as she heard a familiar sound, she almost couldn't believe her ears. There, in the distance, was the chittering of a vast colony of bats.

"Do you hear them?" she asked Goth excitedly.

"Yes," Goth was tilting his head curiously, listening intently. Dawn felt somewhere between anticipatory and nostalgic, but definitely excited at the prospect of seeing a colony again.

Goth landed upon a tree to wait for the approaching colony. Dawn straining her neck as she tried to spot them.

"If they are headed the same way, perhaps we can fly with them?" she suggested. "Stay together, like colony?"

"You little bats like to fly together, don't you?" Goth remarked. "Like a flock of little birds."

"Well yes," Dawn wondered if he had just insulted her or merely made a casual comparison. "It would be kind of dangerous for everyone to migrate individually."

"It's rare for my kind to travel far in large groups," Goth mused. "We don't migrate."

It was a colony of greenwings, Dawn grinned as they finally came into view, a massive colony of many hundreds of individuals. But disappointingly she saw they were flying north-westward; flying with them would not be an option. The bats had by now noticed them, and one flew over to greet them.

Then an odd thing happened, Goth appeared to hesitate, almost as if he wanted to fly away. Dawn noticed the way he suddenly tensed, tilting to one side as if preparing to drop from the tree. But by then the messenger had already reached them.

"It's unusual to see any bats out here so late in the year. You two lost?" the messenger asked them soon as he was close enough not to shout.

"No, amigo, we're traveling south. We know our way," Goth replied smoothly. The messenger seemed to be scrutinizing Goth, Dawn noticed. Then again, it was unlikely the greenwing had ever seen anyone like Goth before.

"We're traveling late, our winter roost is a short distance north of here," the messenger answered. "I would invite you to fly with us, but it seems our paths diverge."

"Do you know anything about why the owls might be acting so aggressive recently?" Dawn spoke up. "We've had several near misses with them already."

"Our summer roost is located in an isolated valley, we hear little from the rest of the world," the messenger replied. "But we have heard word that a bat looked at the sun. I don't think there is a bat, bird or beast in the forests who hasn't heard about it."

"We know this," Goth replied dismissively. "What the señorita wanted to know was if there was anything else? But if that is all, we must take wing once more."

"Well I wish you further luck on your journey, there aren't many owls around here, but there used to be," the messenger said ominously. "Bats have been reported going missing in this area. Don't stay longer than you need to."

The messenger then turned and headed back to catch up with the rest of the colony.

As the colony flew on, Dawn noticed a strange look on Goth's face. Fixated, the large bat watched the departing colony with keen interest. _Was he homesick?_

"Don't worry, we'll be with your colony soon enough," she tried reassuring him.

"Un momento, senorita," he told her, not looking away from the colony. Then Goth dropped from the branch and took off after the other bats.

Dawn was suddenly filled with a feeling of dread. He wasn't abandoning her out here was he?!

"Hey, where are you going?" she called after him. "Don't leave me here!"

"I will return!" he called back to her.

...

This was only the second time he had left her like this, but Dawn was already sick of it. Not being able to fly was a pain. She tested her injured wing a few times while she waited, but she didn't dare release her grip from the branch, worried that she would simply drop from the sky if she tried.

Goth wasn't gone long though.

He returned in a hurry.

"That took some time," she complained nonetheless. "What were you doing?"

"Hunting," he replied agitatedly, looking around as if worried he had been followed.

"I thought you were going to talk to those greenwings," she answered, confused. She was startled when Goth abruptly covered her with one wing.

"Señorita, quiet," he warned, and she knew that something was wrong. "There were owls not far behind me."

Dawn couldn't see any owls, but now that she listened, she could just about hear them, the rustling of feathers near silent, like falling snow.

She looked up to the stars, to orientate herself and pick out the route they would need to follow once they started flying. But the sky was cloudy and she could only just see the moon. Squinting though, she looked through the trees, and inadvertently spotted the owls gliding near silently in the sky overhead. The birds hadn't noticed them yet, but it was clear they were searching. The owl in the lead of the formation looking one way then the next; disk like face rotating as it sought sound.

"Up there," Dawn whispered nervously to Goth. "They're above us!"

His head snapped up. Dawn decided they needed to stay still and quiet until the owls left, but she was too scared to say this aloud in case the birds looked down. She had heard tales of how owls ate their prey alive, and she didn't want to find out if this was true first hand.

Goth was glaring up at the owls, she thought he planned to out-wait the owls too, but she was wrong.

"Hold on," he said quietly, then dropped from the tree. The glide down was silent, the first awkward stroke of his wings was not. Goth had seemingly not taken into account that he was carrying her, and with the extra weight, flew too close to the ground. They never left the air, but there was an awkward moment in which it seemed they might, the edge of Goth's wings audibly clipping at the snow.

An owl's greatest asset was undoubtedly its ears, and looking back she saw all five of the birds had changed direction and were descending through the trees.

"They've spotted us," she warned Goth.

Goth snarled, and gave up on trying to fly silently. Flapping his wings harder, he picked up speed and flew more rapidly amongst the trees.

"How can they persecute us like this!?" Dawn yelped, seeing the owls spreading out to encircle them. "As if one curious silverwing looking at the sun could ever hurt anyone?!"

"Think of escape, not reason!" Goth shouted back, doing his best to manoeuvre amongst the trees and lose the owls. "I would fight if you were not weighing me down!"

Dawn bit back an angry retort and held on tighter, terrified she might fall off and be left for the owls.

Ahead a strange inclined surface glowed like the surface of a lake, it took only a moment for her to realize that this couldn't possibly be water before Goth was sweeping upwards and over it, but behind them there was a satisfying _'THUNK'_ as the owls collided one after the other into the hard reflective surface.

On the other side of the structure, Goth immediately dropped from the air and landed upon the shimmering surface. They both flattened themselves against the roof and waited.

Eventually the sound of the owls flying away was heard, and Goth relaxed, getting to his feet again. Dawn didn't immediately move, being half frozen, half terrified, she didn't want to. Goth looked down at her quizzically.

"Do not be upset, Dawn, you hid well," he laughed as he helped her up.

"That was some pretty amazing flying you did just there," Dawn shivered as she swept off the snow still clinging to her fur. "Way to get rid of those owls."

"I have tricked them into flying into water before, but this was just as good," Goth agreed.

"What is this place anyway?" Dawn asked, frowning as her feet skidded against the strange structure they were standing on – it was unnaturally smooth.

Goth looked around briefly. "A human building."

Dawn rolled her eyes, _she could see that_! But she'd never seen a structure like this before, but that wasn't the strangest thing, Dawn could now hear voices. Many voices, but she couldn't see or smell anyone!

"Do you hear those voices?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes, there must be a colony nearby," Goth remarked, shuffling along the roof in search of the sound.

"Out here in the middle of nowhere?" Dawn questioned. "That doesn't make any sense. Those greenwings said no one lives out here."

"They also said there weren't many owls," Goth considered this. "We should investigate."

"Okay," she agreed uncertainly. But hey, Goth had so far proved to be a good protector. If she stuck close to him, she reckoned she would be safe.

After some searching, they soon found an opening in the side of the building. It was narrow and dark, but it seemed this was the source of the voices.

"I don't like the look of this," Dawn said, instinctively wanting to keep to open air rather than crawl into confined tunnel. "What if they're stuck in there?"

"Do they sound alarmed to you?" he questioned rhetorically; the voices didn't sound distressed at all.

Dawn shrugged, then winced at the pain in her winng, she reminded herself she couldn't fly.

Goth went through first, hurriedly, caution thrown to the wind. Dawn followed after more slowly.

"Can you see anything?" she asked. It was pitch black, and even with echoes she could only see down the tunnel as Goth was blocking the way.

"This must be the wrong way in, they got in someway else-" Goth was cut off as he abruptly dropped out of view.

"Goth, you alright?" she called after him, hurrying forward.

"Señorita, don't!" he warned, but it was already too late.

Dawn suddenly found the ground had dropped away beneath her, and without anything to grip onto, she fell.

Goth had managed to brace himself against the sides of the tunnel to stop himself sliding any further, but when Dawn landed on him she felt him slip.

The surface was too steep and smooth to stop again. Tumbling, they shot out through a flap at the end of the tunnel and into an open space. Dawn managed to hold onto Goth as he managed to open his wings just in time to avoid hitting the ground.

The first thing Dawn then noticed was the warmth, then she saw was trees and moss, and everywhere there were bats.

It was like they had quite literally flown into summer.


	6. Trapped

**Chapter 6**

**Trapped**

This had been a terribly mistake.

Curiosity had cursed him once again!

Some part of his mind had been warning him that something was faintly familiar about the building, but Goth had ignored it in the favor of a possible feast. His pursuit of the greenwings, less than an hour before, had been cut short by the arrival of a scouting group of owls before he had managed to sideline any of the colony.

He was still hungry.

"W-what is this place?" Dawn beside him asked uncertainly, letting go of him as she looked around. "What just happened? How is it summer again?"

Indeed the trees here were draped in the dark leaves of midsummer, and there was no sign of frost or snow. But nor were there any clouds, rain or even the smallest breath of wind. The air still and stagnant as a pond.

Then there was the fact that they were enclosed on all sides by rock and glass.

"This place..." Goth paused as he looked around, taking in the differences. "It's not real."

"It's got to be real! Look at this tree, look at those bats," exclaimed the little silverwing looking around excitedly, though her little nose was scrunched in confusion. "_How_ is this place real? Did we die?"

_So blissfully ignorant._

This artificial forest was by no means identical to his old prison, it was far larger and the ceiling was transparent. But it was a prison, just like before.

"No, we must get out," Goth said quickly, and tried to pull the trapdoor back open.

But it wouldn't budge.

"Even if you got back in there, how would you get back up?" Dawn asked him indifferently, clearly unconcerned. "Let's have a look around before we do anything hasty, this place is warm! Why not just stay here till evening? If you want to leave so badly there is probably another way out if a whole colony is living here."

"You do not understand the seriousness of this situation, senorita," he turned to glare down at her – to her credit she didn't cower this time, she merely looked confused. "This is not that different to the prison in which I was kept, I should have recognized it!"

"This place looks nice to me," she shrugged, giving him a puzzled look.

He was about to retaliate, tell her exactly why this was not a _nice place_ when several bats swooped low overhead, curious at the new arrivals.

"Wow, look at his wingspan!" one exclaimed upon seeing Goth.

There were several murmurs of agreement as more bats flew over to see him for themselves. The small group attracted the curiosity of yet more bats and pretty soon there was a whole crowd gathered around them, landing in the trees while some remained airborne.

Goth wasn't quite sure how to react at first, he had never been so close to so many little bats at once that weren't fleeing to escape him. It was really quite baffling, the sight seemed so unusual. They obviously never seen one of his kind before. Beside him, Dawn took a step back, pressing her back against him, seemingly alarmed by the sudden growing crowd of bats gathering around them.

"Hello," he greeted those closest to his branch. "I am Goth, a weary traveler."

"I am…From…!" many chorused back in return, naming themselves and their colonies. Like little flittering birds, all mindless and alike as they shuffled around.

"Could any of you be kind enough to tell us what exactly this place is?" he asked the crowd.

Of course they all tried to all answer at once, chattering over each other and making it hard for him to understand what any of them were saying. Then one finally shouted above the rest:

"The elder Sanctus knows better than any of us! Why don't we ask him?"

Immediately there was a chorus of agreement, and Goth found himself pressured to fly with them. He didn't mind, it would give him a chance to get a look around and find out what he could about this new prison.

"Well senorita, it looks as if we must do the politest thing, and fly with these bats. And perhaps get a better look around this place," he told Dawn, readying his wings to fly. But she frowned and looked at the assembled bats again.

"I think I'm going to stay here," she said to him quietly.

"Dawn?"

The little bat kept shuffling her wings, now looking away from the assembled bats, obviously quite distressed.

"I'm tired, just come back for me when you're done talking," she mumbled. "It's not like I'll go anywhere."

It didn't take much thought to figure out why she didn't want to move, the silverwing was ashamed that she couldn't fly, and didn't want anyone else to know about it. Goth wouldn't pressure her, it would be easier for him to scope out this new artificial forest in closer detail if he was on his own anyway.

Finding a way out was now his top priority, if this place was anything like the last then escaping would not be easy. Dawn already trusted him, and she would still be here when he returned.

"As you wish," he bowed his head to her, taking one of her hands in his to reassure her. "I will not be gone long."

* * *

It was strange how just one small action, a small simple gesture on Goth's part, had her stomach doing back flips. For a moment her brain seemed to stop working and it took a few seconds for Dawn to even realize that Goth had already left.

She could still feel a ghost of pressure upon her hand, warm and strong. This burst of emotion had caught her off guard, and she hastily tried to shake it off. _It meant nothing_, she told herself, _you just weren't expecting it_.

Anyway, she was on her own again for now.

Dawn frowned and looked around uneasily. Perhaps opting to stay behind hadn't been such a good idea. Having only recently really spoken with anyone outside her colony - most of whom she had known by sight if not by name – the idea of introducing herself and making conversation was intimidating. She could see herself making an introduction, but then what? What was she supposed to speak about? Goth made it look so easy, she wished she had just as half as much charisma.

A few other bats flew past her in time, but they spared her little more than a glance. At first she thought they were ignoring her, but she soon realised that there were so many different bats, from so many different colonies here that most probably didn't even realise she was new.

There were many types of bats here, many were of kinds she had never seen before. None, however, looked like Goth. But this didn't particularly surprise her, these were all northern bats, it would only make sense that Goth was one of kind here.

"Hello there," said a chipper voice. "You alright?"

Dawn looked up and saw a bat only a bit bigger than herself watching her from the branch above. His fur was grey-green, she guessed that he was a greywing but she wasn't certain – she was called a silverwing, but she wasn't exactly silver...more like a bluey grey.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for a friend of mine," she replied. Dawn couldn't help but notice a few passing bats turned to look at the greywing as they flew past, she could have sworn one of them sneered at him before they flew beyond sight in the trees again.

"Name's Robin," the greywing said, flying down so that he perched on a branch opposite hers. If he had noticed the passing bats, he didn't appear to care.

"I'm Dawn," she introduced herself. "What is this place?"

"Oh, you're new?" he asked, though he didn't exactly sound surprised. "I thought something might be up when I spotted you perched up here on your own all evening. Where's the rest of your colony?"

"I got separated from my colony about a week ago, before I arrived here," she answered. "I'm not traveling alone though."

"Oh, did the rest of your group fly off to go stare at that new arrival then? I think there was a lot of ditching all the way around when that big bat arrived. Pretty much everyone wanted to get a look at him. Never seen a bat quite like him," Robin himself didn't sound all that interested. "It's not like much happens around here."

"I'm traveling with that big bat," she told him somewhat proudly. "His name is Goth."

"Oh," Robin replied. "Well why didn't you follow him?"

"It seemed easier to stay here," she lied. "He's gonna be back in a bit anyway, he's just taking a look around this place."

"There's not much to see, it's just trees and gravel," he replied boredly. "I've been here for several months now, so I should know. My colony's male summer roost wasn't far from here, most of us got trapped in here about the same time."

"Trapped?" she questioned, Goth's words echoing in her mind, he had called this place a prison. But she didn't want it to be true.

"Yeah, there isn't a way out of here," Robin continued casually. "No one in my colony wanted to get out at first either, myself included, until it came time to migrate to meet with the rest of our colony for the winter. Only to find that it was impossible to leave."

"You couldn't get back to your colony, that's awful!" Dawn exclaimed, perhaps a little over-sympathetically, but she couldn't help it – she related to the problem all too well. "Where are the others in your colony now, are they seeking a way out?"

"No, they're gone," Robin said simply.

"They got out?" she asked puzzledly.

"No, I don't think so. Bats vanish here all the time. It's the only reason why this place isn't completely overcrowded," Robin stated blandly, he sounded surprisingly indifferent. "I'm the last one left. I have my ways of avoiding vanishing though. Here's a handy tip: don't roost where everyone else roosts. Those in the big groups often disappear together."

"Okay, okay," Dawn was now beginning to wonder if this bat was a bit crazy. "So you're saying that bats are trapped in here, and then they just vanish? How do you know they didn't just all escape?"

"Because they only vanish during the day, when everyone is asleep," Robin said matter-of-factually. "That and they don't tell anyone they're leaving, and no one knows where they have gone."

"Well that's ominous," Dawn replied, trying to not to take the conversation too seriously. Looking around now at the near perfect replica of a forest in summer, she found it nearly impossible to believe that there was anything sinister about the place. "I wouldn't mind staying around for a bit though, just for the food and the warmth. It's not nice outside right now, believe me."

"Believe you? Believe _me_, this place has some terrible secret behind it," Robin told her insistently. "I don't quite yet know what it is, but I know it's bad!"

"I think I'm going to reserve my judgement for a little while longer," she regarded him curiously. "I need to see these things for myself."

"Don't believe me? Then look up there," he pointed at one wall, where high up a band of black shiny rock covered a small section of the false forest wall. "What do you see?"

"Nothing, it's just more glass, like the ceiling," she replied. But it wasn't quite the same as that of the ceiling because neither her eyes or echoes could see through the black glassy material. Dawn had no idea what lay on the other side.

"There are things moving behind it," Robin continued, narrowing his eyes at the invisible enemy. "If you move close enough you can sometimes hear them."

"Hear what exactly?"

"Humans of course. Who else could build a place as complex as this?" Robin grinned, rolling his eyes.

"But why would humans want to trap us?" Dawn asked. She knew Goth had been held captive before but he hadn't told her why or what had happened where he was kept. Dawn would be sure to ask him as soon as he returned.

"I don't know. Maybe to eat us. You know how squirrels store nuts in trees?" Robin said rather gleefully. "Well, I think this place might be something similar. I can't think of any other reason, so there probably isn't one."

Dawn was horrified at the prospect.

"Well if that's true then we need to get out as soon as possible," she said worriedly. "My companion, he was trapped by humans before. He might know how to get out."

"And he escaped?" all the joking cheerful chattiness from before was suddenly gone from Robin's voice.

"Well, yes, he did." _That much was obvious, else they wouldn't be there now._

"I need to speak to him," Robin exclaimed loudly, startling her. "Do you know how he got out last time?"

"No, you see I wasn't there at the time," she explained. "We were traveling south when we got lured in. Honestly the weather is dreadful outside, I wouldn't mind staying here, just for a little while."

"I don't think you have much choice about that," Robin gestured at the artificial forest. "I've looked this place over again and again, there is no way out."

* * *

It was nearly morning now, the sky was beginning to wash away to the pale color of day overhead.

The elder named Sanctus was not wise bat in any shape or form, Goth had concluded. Soft bodied, slow with captivity and oh-so-convinced of his own logic, the elder was feeble in every sense of the word. This place was paradise, the elder had told him – and the gathered little bats around him had happily chorused too – but Goth knew better.

The little bats here were blind to the fact that they were trapped, they didn't want to leave. He would have to be careful how he treaded here, he had no fear of such small bats but the prospect of being mobbed wasn't ideal either. Yet another hiccup in his journey back, he felt his temper threatening to get the better of him again but he managed to keep it in check.

He had escaped from a place like this before, he could do it again.

Goth made sure to fly low and close to the ground so that the humans would be less likely to spot him. He could not see them through the blackened glass and it irritated him, but he knew that they were there and he did not want them to see him.

Now his attention was turned back to Dawn. He had her on his side now, though he still couldn't be certain that the little weaselly thing wouldn't try to get out of the journey again. She wasn't quite as sneaky as Shade had been, but perhaps this was because she still trusted him – and he wanted to keep it this way.

Angling his wings, he put on a burst of speed and caught one of the many lazily flying moths there, and then began to make his way back to where Dawn had been. She wouldn't have been able to move far in his absence, he had been aware of this, and it was likely she would probably be on the defensive when he returned, frightened by her new surroundings and her own weakness. He could use this though, make a big show of caring for her well being and no doubt he would gain her gratitude and trust.

Dawn wasn't alone when he returned. There was another little bat talking to her.

Goth felt a spark of irritation, he hoped Dawn wasn't foolish enough to be indoctrinated so easily, but then again it wouldn't surprise him. He would just have to work harder if this was the case.

"Goth!" she exclaimed happily when she spotted him, then she frowned. "What happened? Why did you take so long?"

"The locals were showing me around. Here," he handed her the moth. "I thought you might be hungry."

"Umm, thank you," she was surprised. Abashed, she took the offering and hurriedly gestured to the greywing. "So, erm, Goth this is-"

"I'm Robin! Pleased to meet you," said the greywing, practically shoving Dawn to one side in his haste to introduce himself. "Dawn has been telling me all about you. She said you've escaped from a place like this before? Do you think you could do it again?"

"I would think so," he began to reply, surprised by the hyper demeanor of the greywing.

"You see I've been trying for months to get out of here, but I've never found a way," the greywing babbled. "So I thought that if you had gotten out before, then you can tell me how."

Goth tried to reply again, but the greywing didn't pause to let him speak.

"Of course, if you weren't trapped here then perhaps the situation was different, maybe it was easier to get out or the humans didn't seal up the place properly," Robin continued. "You see I've tried everything. Where they let the moths in, the gap is too small to squeeze through! It's impossible to dig out because there is no earth to dig! And you can't fly out because there is not a single hole in the roofing."

"I broke out-" Goth began to say.

"But how did you get out before?" the greywing interrupted and spoke over him without even listening. "Do you know why they trap us? You look kinda roughed up, especially your ears, did the humans try to eat you the last time you were trapped?"

Goth narrowed his eyes.

He had had enough of moronic flying snacks for the day! Being trapped again was one thing, but being trapped with annoyances likes this was a whole new level. Especially one that would dare to insult him! But he could not simply threaten or kill the pest, not while Dawn with him. Nor could he simply ask the greywing to leave...but he could act, and that gave him an idea.

"Enough!" he growled, abruptly taking Dawn under one wing; the little silverwing squeaking in surprise. "For how long have you pestered her?"

"Huh, what?" the greywing was taken aback at the unexpected outburst.

"You come near her again, and I'll tear off your wings!" Goth snarled. "You think because you saw her alone that you can try courting her in my absence?!"

Dawn had tensed below his wing, but his focus remained on the irritating pest in front of him. Much to his satisfaction, the irritating greywing looked suitably terrified.

"Wow, I wasn't bothering your mate, I swear," he had backed up a few along the branch. "I just want to escape from here." And then with a whimper, he leapt from the branch and flew away.

Goth glared after the retreating greywing for a few moments more until he was certain the irritating little pest was gone.

Then, unable to stop himself, he began to laugh.

Dawn twisted under his wing, trying to get out. He loosened his hold on her, still chuckling to himself.

"That wasn't funny," said Dawn, pushing on his arm so that she could look up at him. "Now you've traumatized him and he thinks you're my overprotective mate. Damn it, Goth! He's never going to want to speak to us again!"

"He is gone, is he not?" Goth was still finding it hard not to laugh. "That was my intention."

"You know, he might have been able to help us escape," she replied, hastily looking away when Goth met her gaze. "He seemed like a nice guy, just very talkative. I think being stuck here may have messed with his mind."

"He insulted me," And if this had been under normal circumstances, the greywing would now be dead. Not even back in his old home were there many vampyrum who would have dared insult him, let alone a pipsqueak snack!

"He told me he had lost his colony, and that the humans are keeping us here to so as to eat us," Dawn replied. "And then he kept going on and on about enclosed spaces, and not being able to wake up. I don't think he's quite right in the head."

"First of all that makes him no less annoying, senorita," Goth pointed out. "Secondly, why would the humans keep us in here to eat?"

"Why else would they want us here?" Dawn questioned. "Robin suggested that they might be keeping us in here like a larder, and I can't think of any other reason that would make any sense."

"Let me tell you about my capture, senorita," Goth explained. "Do you think that the humans took me many thousands of wingbeats north, just to eat me? My enclosure was very different from this one, much smaller, and the only other bat there was my brother-in-law. Throbb and I were trapped for seven nights, but not once did they try to eat us."

"What did they do then?"

"They watched us," Goth said venomously. "They want to steal the secret of our night vision."

"How?" Dawn leaned forward. "How would they do that?"

"I do not know," Goth's posture deflated. "But it makes more sense that this place being a giant larder."

"Robin said that bats go missing here all the time, but he doesn't think they're escaping," Dawn told him. "I think the larder theory still makes sense. I mean, why would they need so many of us if they just wanted our night vision?"

"I do not understand how humans think anymore than you do, senorita, they are an odd and dangerous species," Goth then added as an afterthought. "But I have heard that they will eat pretty much anything, so the food theory could be true as well."

Dawn shrunk and looked around hastily.

"I don't want to be eaten...or trapped," she said nervously. "We need to find somewhere safe to roost, where they won't find us. Robin said to stay away from the main colony roosting area as they are the ones that go missing most often."

_So bats went missing here?_ This was news. For the duration of his last stay Goth nor Throbb had been removed even once from their enclosure after they had been banded. Could this place serve a different purpose than the last?

"If there is anything I can do, tell me, ok?" she continued. "I felt useless just hanging up here all night."

"Well then, I will tell you what I am looking for," he told her. "If you spot or hear of any weakness in this building's walls, if you feel even the slightest sliver of a breeze from the outside, tell me and I will investigate. That is how I got out before."

* * *

The following evening, Goth once again flew off to further explore the building in hopes of finding a way out.

Meanwhile Dawn had tried introducing herself to some the locals that had flown close enough for her to talk to them. She had learnt a few new names, but for the most part, no one had said much to her. Things would have been easier if she could fly as – unsurprisingly – it turned out that being confined to the same branch all night was rather anti-social.

So Dawn found herself alone again.

Robin hadn't made another appearance, and she suspected that Goth might have scared him off permanently. To be honest it kind of annoyed her. She wouldn't have minded getting to know a few of the locals, especially one that shared her interest of escaping from captivity. Robin has seemed nice, just a bit of a chatterbox was all.

Goth also was getting to know the locals, as she later spotted him from a distance, talking to a brightwing.

The brightwing was pretty, she noted, with delicate shell-shaped ears, gentle green eyes and soft bell-like laugh. Dawn was surprised at the sudden desire she had to shove said brightwing into a hive of angry bees.

She had no idea where this irrational jealously had suddenly come from, and she didn't want to believe it was jealousy. But every time she looked over and saw that Goth was still speaking to the beauty, she found herself frowning.

It was all Goth's fault somehow. _It was his fault, the big stupid flirt!_

Dawn shook her head vigorously and wished she could fly elsewhere. She trusted herself to be able to glide down from the branch she was on, but what would the point of that be? She doubted she would be able to get back up again.

So she stayed where she was.

...

It was already morning when Goth finally returned to roost.

The first rays of sunlight were streaming in through the roof, the light making his fur shimmer like gold. Dawn was surprised to note that he was soaked through with water, it clung to his fur and flew free from the tips of his wings. _Wait, what?_ _Had he fallen into the stream or something?_ she thought. If she hadn't been half asleep she might have been tempted to playfully poke fun at him, or at least inquire why it looked like he had gone swimming.

He landed nearby, yet another moth in one claw.

"Dawn, I've brought you a little gift," he told her.

"Thanks, Goth," she said to him, taking the offered moth. He had brought back moths several times that day as he knew she couldn't go hunting for herself at the moment, the gesture was definitely appreciated but it also left her feeling flustered.

"You're welcome, senorita," he practically purred.

Dawn was tempted to swat at him out of irritation, if only because of her own embarrassment, but she decided against this. She only protested mildly when he chose to roost next to her – damp and cold as he was from his apparent dip in the stream.

The artificial forest was near silent now, everyone having settled down for the day.

So it wasn't until that evening that anyone would notice a lone brightwing had gone missing.

* * *

_A/N: Updates are going to remain sporadic like this until the summer holidays. Uni is much tougher than I thought it would be, the work load is crazy O_O! So many essays, soooo mannnnny eessssssaaaaaaayyyyyss! AHH!_

_Response to reviews (I've been meaning to do this for a while)_

_Carslisle Fan 22:_ _Aww, thank you :D_

_Guest1#_ _Sorry the update took so long, thank you for your review :)_

_Guest2# Throbb will be making an appearance in the next chapter, or if not he will definitely be appearing in the one after that._

_RandomCitizen: You're on the right track. Goth's presence there is not going to go unnoticed for long._


	7. Missing

**Chapter 7**

**Missing**

Shade watched with interest as the small band of greenwings reeled overhead and began to ascend towards the cliff edge where Frieda and the others elders awaited them. Marina was watching too, rounded ears twitching as she also tried to listen in.

"You want to go up there, don't you?" she goaded him.

"Yeah, of course I do," he replied, fidgeting.

"Well, take the lead, I'll be right behind you."

"I'm not just flying up there," he replied quickly. "Besides, we'll hear all about this from Frieda later. If it's something big she's gonna share it with the entire colony."

Marina wasn't convinced.

"I'm still new here, it would be rude if I went on my own."

The two might have fidgeted and argued for some time, about which was the politest way to eavesdrop, if it wasn't for Frieda then spotting them. The elder raised one wing and gestured for them to join her with a smile. Marina smirked at Shade and launched herself into the air before Shade had even had time to unfurl his wings. He followed after her quickly, determined to be the first one to land.

The two of them landed about the same time, skidding slightly upon the icy surface of the outcrop, where the others waited for them patiently.

"Is this him? But he looks so...young," said the largest of the greenwings upon catching sight of Shade. He then seemed to gather his wits and bowed, the other greenwings in his group quickly copying him. "We and all bats are grateful for what you have done for us, Shade Silverwing. We owe you our eternal gratitude."

"Eh heh heh, thanks," Shade laughed a little awkwardly. Sure he liked being a hero, but it could also be awkward at times. He didn't feel as if he had actually done that much, but somehow he had, he had turned an ancient rule on its head and brought peace between owls and bats which hadn't been known for centuries. He still couldn't quite believe it himself.

"This is Hazel," Frieda introduced the lead greenwing to Shade. "He hails from a colony that hibernates not far from here. They had not heard of the treaty till one night ago, and flew here to confirm that it was true. But to also offer us caution."

The lead greenwing cleared his throat.

"The giant you spoke of, that started this whole mess," Hazel said to Shade. "I believe my colony encountered one of them a three nights ago."

"Have you told the owls yet?" Shade asked, he didn't like to think of either of the two cannibals still flying around. "They're trying to find them, but haven't had any luck yet."

"We did not know of the treaty at the time of the encounter, nor had we heard of the cannibals from the south," Hazel replied, then cringed uncomfortably. "We made no move to stop them, or seek the owls' assistance."

"Them? But you said you saw one?" Shade checked, but he wasn't really surprised. Goth had survived through an owl attack, a rockfall and even a human power station, so what was a little icy water to him?

"We saw only one of the large bats you described," Hazel then gestured for another of his group to step forward. "Macadam was the one to speak to them."

The other greenwing, Macadam, stepped forward. He was smaller than Hazel, his greyed fur indicative of a more advanced age, likely a messenger like Mercury. He was also clearly troubled, repeatedly frowning and squaring his shoulders.

"What did you mean they if there was only one?" Shade asked again. "Did he give a name?"

"There was only one, and he did not give a name," Macadam shook his head. "But he was not traveling alone. There was a silverwing with him, a young lady. We didn't speak long, but it was clear she hadn't heard of the treaty either as she inquired why the owls were attacking bats. That giant though, he was pleasant enough in conversation but I got the feeling that he didn't really want to talk."

"So it would appear our enemy has found himself another guide to return to his home," Frieda concluded. "We should inform the owls as soon as we can, but it is already possible that he may be beyond their reach. You met when? Three nights ago, was it?"

"That's right, madam," replied Macadam anguishedly. "I feel as if this is my fault. If I'd known I would have done something! That silverwing he was traveling with is probably dead by now..."

"It was not your fault, you could not have known."

"What sort of silverwing would migrate alone at this time of year anyway?"

"Perhaps one that was banished," Marina said quietly, looking down at the band on her forearm. Shade realised that through their adventures they had still never discovered its significance.

"Possibly," agreed Frieda. "But more likely one that was lost, why else would she agree to travel so far from home? Did she appear to be under any distress? Perhaps she was coerced."

"I couldn't say for certain, she didn't appear to be particularly upset," Macadam said to Frieda, then looked at Shade uncomfortably. "But that brings me to my next point - this only struck me when we just met just now - but Shade Silverwing, are you currently missing any close relatives?"

"Yeah, my sister was separated from the colony on the journey here," Shade replied uneasily. "We're hoping she'll turn up in the next few nights though."

"Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but the silverwing guide, that the cannibal had with him, you remind me of her."

* * *

"_...and so Nocturna saw fit to bequeath the chosen a paradise, that never cooled, in which the chosen knew no fear; of hunger, injury or death..._"

The elder's voice was slow, soothing and above all else, zealous. But he spoke words Dawn already doubted - though she wondered if she might have been swayed had she arrived here alone and naive of the true nature of this place.

Even with this doubt though, it was hard to completely disbelieve the elder. Part of her mind told here there was a possibility that the bat she had met, Robin - who had clearly gone a little stir crazy - had lied or been confused about what had actually happened to the rest of his colony, or that maybe even Goth was wrong - he had after all said that the holding place at which he had been imprisoned was not quite the same as this one.

It was hard to believe that anything was wrong when so many bats around her were so convinced that everything was right.

"_...and when the sun rose on Nocturna's promised land, no bat was blinded nor scorched by its light. There were no cries of accusation, for no laws had been broken. The bats had returned to the light, as is our right, the chosen few..._" the elder continued speaking. Around her the other gathered bats murmured quietly in agreement, like wind rustling through dead leaves.

It had been three nights since she had first arrived here, and so far neither she or Goth had found a way out. So maybe there was a tiny possibility they were trapped in paradise, but there was no denying that every bat there was indeed **trapped**.

Dawn fidgeted on her perch, beginning to grow restless, and bored. She had already heard this speech twice since she had arrived, having to listen through it a third time didn't make the self-worshiping tale any more interesting.

"At least pretend to listen," Goth said just loudly enough for her to hear.

"Why are we here? I thought you said this guy was bogus," Dawn muttered in amusement. Despite his words, Goth had been tutting and hissing all evening that the elder was speaking nonsense.

"I intend to talk to the old one that is speaking now," he replied. "He may know something we do not."

"You think he would just tell you if he knew a way out?" Dawn asked disbelievingly; crossing her wings and grinning. Goth spared her a mere glance before looking forward towards the speaking elder again. Dawn huffed and went back to musing.

She had noticed that Goth had become strangely quiet since they had arrived in the artificial forest three nights before. It was not that he was shying away from anyone - Dawn doubted Goth even knew the concept of shy - but more so that for the most part he showed little to no interest in talking to any of the locals. He had also developed a somewhat odd fixation regarding the metal entrance contraption to the artificial forest, often hanging for hours at a time nearby to where new bats might arrive - even though he already knew that there was no getting out that way.

She had no idea what Goth was up to, and he wouldn't elaborate beyond that there was nothing else to do.

Only three new bats had arrived since they had; with winter now firmly settled outside there were very few bats still flying around outside. Goth had greeted each of these bats before anyone else could; the last of the three bats had arrived alone and shown signs of fear of Goth. Dawn hadn't seen that particular bat since; she suspected they were probably avoiding Goth and wondered what he had done.

Dawn unfurled her injured wing, flapping it a few times as she tested its strength. Other than a vague ache though, much of the previous pain she had felt was now gone.

"Stop that," Goth huffed. "You're drawing attention."

Dawn briefly glanced around at the gathered bats somewhat disinterestedly. She was beginning to recognize a few faces by now. Many bats gathered here every night to listen to the elder Sanctus recite tales of comfort and wisdom spun from the ideal that Nocturna herself had constructed the artificial forest.

In that moment she glimpsed a greywing flying up through the trees.

She was surprised to recognize them as Robin. She hadn't seen him since the whole incident with Goth threatening to remove his wings on the first evening. If anyone could help them escape, it would be Robin. That, and she needed to apologize.

Dawn had asked around since then to see if anyone had seen him, but their answers had all been generally unhelpful:

_"You shouldn't really be talking to him," one had said. "Sanctus says he's cursed. That's why the rest of his colony ascended while he was left behind."_

_"It's bad luck to talk to him," another had agreed. "You risk taking on his curse too. And then you can never go on."_

Well, now was a good a time as any to speak to him.

"I will be back in a minute," she told Goth.

Dawn leapt from the tree and glided for as far as she could without losing too much height. As soon as she was out of view of the gathering, she landed upon a tree trunk and began to the arduous job of climbing up to the top, trying to avoid flying while her wing was still healing.

It didn't take her long to find him; the greywing hadn't flown very far.

"Heya," she called as she flew up to him. "What's up?"

"Oh hey!" he chirped, happily and brightly as ever. Dawn was surprised; she had been certain he had been avoiding her on purpose but here he was apparently completely indifferent.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened. Goth can be kind of temperamental," she immediately apologized. "If he tries something like that again I promise I'll stand up for you. I just want to get out of here, and so does he."

"Well, okay, I'd already forgotten about the entire encounter to be honest, I get bats snapping at me all the time here," Robin was still grinning, though he sounded somewhat taken aback by the apology. "Don't tell anyone else you want to escape though, they don't like it when they think bats want to leave."

Nearby, Dawn heard voices start up, the fluttering of many wings; the gathering was over.

"I wouldn't breathe a word. Goth's already warned me against talking to them about that."

"Does he know you're here? Talking to me?" Robin asked indifferently; but Dawn didn't miss the nervous darting of his eyes.

"Yeah, I told him where I was going," she half-lied. "I don't think he minded too much."

"Hah, well, I heard mates can be quite protective, eh heh," Robin replied.

"He's not my mate," Dawn quickly got that straight. "He was just trying to intimidate you. We were traveling together for a few days before we got trapped here. He's sworn to protect me, but I think he might have gone a bit overboard."

"He threatened to kill me," the indifference from before was gone, Robin was serious.

"Well technically it was maim, but I can see how that might be a problem," Dawn joked uncomfortably. "But I don't see why we can't be allies. Goth might be too arrogant to accept help, but I'm not. You still want to get out of here, don't you?"

"..." Robin made a face, but then his shoulders sagged. "Even with my expertise, I can tell you there is no way out."

"Well Goth and me are searching for some form of exit," she told him. "Anything that a current might be drawn through. You know of such a place?"

"There is a grating high up on this far side wall that a current washes through, but you won't be able to squeeze through anyway. Gaps are too narrow," he shrugged. "Believe me, not even a moth could squeeze through there. It's covered in this metal mesh like a spider's web made of stone."

"Can you show it to me?"

Robin shrugged disinterestedly, but gestured for her to follow him. He flew off towards the ceiling. Dawn, seeing the sudden dilemma she was faced with, paused, then flew after him, ignoring the ache in her shoulder the best she could. Even so, she landed and climbed the last bit.

Robin waited for her, brow raised, but thankfully he didn't ask anything. Dawn wasn't sure if this was worse though, what if he thought she had never learnt to fly properly?

"It's there, see it?" he asked, pointing with one claw. "You can feel breeze passing through sometimes, but it's impossible to get through. And sometimes it smells like owls."

"Owls...?" Dawn questioned.

She looked at the grating. It was a fine metal mesh - the gaps were indeed too small for even a moth to squeeze through - which covered a narrow tunnel of sorts which was half filled with pipes that ran beneath the mesh and further along the wall. She could see there would be just enough room for her to crawl alongside the pipes within the tunnel and get through, if she could get past the mesh.

Well, she might not be able to remove it, but Goth probably could!

"Yeah, owls, dunno why. I've tried listening but I've never heard anything," Robin tilted his head. "Maybe it leads outside? But unless we can remove the cover..."

Dawn grinned. "Wait here," she told Robin.

And left.

"Goth!" she called, gliding down from the canopy. He had to be around here somewhere. "Goth?!"

And promptly crashed into him as she rounded a tree too quickly.

"What's the hurry?" he asked, catching her by the arm before she could fall out of the air altogether.

"I've found a way out!" she babbled excitedly, then quietened her voice at the stern look he gave her. "At least, I found what you were looking for."

"Where?" he asked quietly.

"Up there," she tried pointing. "Behind the furthest sycamore, close to the roof. It's hard to see coz of the tree, the leaves have sort of grown over it-"

"Not so loud," she was surprised when he abruptly hushed her. It was only then she noticed the elder perched a few branches away, but thankfully he appeared to be talking with someone else already and wasn't paying any attention to her conversation with Goth.

"We'll talk later," he told her. "For now, it will have to wait."

...

Goth found her late in the morning once more.

It was then though, that along with Goth seemingly having taken a dip in the stream again, Dawn noticed the smell of blood. It was faint, but it definitely there.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, moving closer to look him over. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Goth replied, seemingly confused by her concern.

"You're injured," she declared, growing more worried by the moment. What could possibly have hurt him here? Had there been a fight? "And did you fall in the stream?!"

Goth paused.

"I appreciate your concern, senorita, but it is unnecessary. I have been inspecting the stream to see if it led anywhere, I got too close and skimmed the water."

"But I smell blood. Are you hurt?"

"I bit my tongue, it's nothing serious," he replied dismissively. "Now come with me, we're getting out of here."

Goth didn't waste any time, dropping from his perch and flying upwards. Dawn was left behind momentarily, she then scrambled to follow after him.

By the time she had gotten to the tree, Goth had already pushed his way through the leaves and sunk his claws into the metal-mesh to stop himself from falling.

"Good work by the way," he congratulated her as she landed nearby.

A minute later much of the metal-mesh was ripped open. Goth half disappearing into the wall as he pushed his head and shoulders through the gap in the torn mesh.

But just a few moments afterwards, Goth pulled back with a frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it the owls? Robin said it did smell of owls."

"I could barely move," he said bluntly. "By Zotz if it leads to a dead-end I would be stuck. I will not risk dying trapped and starved!"

Dawn frowned uncertainly. Goth had a point.

"Hmm, but you could fit though, couldn't you?" Goth remarked.

"Huh?" Dawn questioned.

"Go in there," he told her. "See if there is a way out."

"You know even if there is a way out up here you're still not going to be able to get out if you can't fit through, right?" Dawn argued half-heartedly, she didn't really want to climb into such a narrow space, it wasn't natural! Bats belonged in open spaces!

"If you can escape then perhaps you can help me," he told her. "See if you can find a way out, anything that might be of use, yes?"

"Or freeze outside," she grumbled in protest but she had already given in and was climbing in. "This tunnel looks as if it runs along the length of the roof."

The tunnel was very cramped, half filled with piping running along one side, but there was just enough room for her to crawl.

"I will wait here," Goth called after her. She wondered if he was trying to reassure her, either way it didn't do much.

Dawn didn't like the situation.

It was all...well, claustrophobic. But now wasn't the time to be fussy, this was possibly the only chance she would get to escape.

As she progressed onwards, she found that Robin had been right, the tunnel did smell like owls, the scent getting stronger the further she went.

Dawn paused for a moment, trying to figure out why the place would smell of owls. Obviously it meant that owls had to be nearby, but why were they nearby? That was the puzzle. Perhaps the pipeline did lead outside. But what if outside was straight into a roost of owls?

She could actually feel a slight breeze now, suggesting there was an open space somewhere ahead of her. She could also see several strips of light reflecting off the piping up ahead.

Once Dawn had just gotten close enough to the light she found that the shadows that were being cast were by a metal grating. Piping passed through the grating here too. The spacing here was much wider, there was no mesh and the bars were thicker. Theoretically Dawn knew she could squeeze through, but decided against it before she even tried. Peering through the bars she knew immediately that it did not lead outside, for all she could see was a forest similar to one she had left.

In fact it looked identical.

_**'CLACK!'**_

Abruptly the light was cut off as the spacing in front of her was suddenly covered in a wall of downy feathers and talons.

Dawn scrambled back out of reach, as scaled clawed feet reached through the bars and furiously tried to grab at her.

"There's a bat here, a ratty little bat!" the owl screeched, then squawked as other owls landed beside it and shoved it aside so they could see too.

Their baleful yellow eyes each seemed the size of a small sun to Dawn, burning bright and fierce. Hooked beaks clacking in anger as they worked themselves into a frenzy, each owl trying to be the one to grab hold of her first.

"You're right, they must be working with the humans!"

"They locked us in!"

"IMPRISONED US!"

Dawn was already out of reach by this point, but every terrifying second seemed to stretch out into minutes, turning around in the narrow cramped space proved nearly impossible, and it seemed to take an eternity before Dawn was finally able to get the right way around and hurry back the way she had came.

She had seen that the tunnel went on beyond where the grating to the owls was, but she had decided she had had enough. It was too cramped, too dark, and there was no way past the owls at this time. Dawn doubted she could pass without being caught and ripped through the bars.

_'I hate owls,'_ she thought to herself as she hurried back. She could still hear them cawing and screeching amongst themselves, having still not given up on the fact that they were not going to be able to catch her. _First Tree Haven, then the unprovoked attack by the watertower, now this..._

When she dropped into the open air and felt the familiar sting in her shoulder, it was for once a relief, she was airborne again. Dawn looked around hurriedly to explain what had happened-

Only to find that Goth was no where to be found.

She landed heavily upon the nearest branch, her wings suddenly feeling as if they were made of stone. Deciding that it must be as a result of the scare she had just had, or perhaps being squashed in the tunnel, Dawn didn't think much of it at the time. But she did notice there was a strange smell in the air.

The artificial forest had never looked clearer. Light overhead poured in through the glass roof. Day had arrived.

Mesmerized she looked upon the sun for the first time, faded as it was by the glass overhead. Woozy and confused - or was this exhaustion, she no longer knew... - Dawn wondered if this is what Shade had felt like when he had first stayed out beyond the dawn chorus.

* * *

Feeling groggy and drained, Dawn awoke along with the rest of the bats when evening returned.

_'What am I doing here?'_ she questioned herself; confused as to why she wasn't on her usual perch. Dawn remembered the early morning before, the owls and her escape. She also remembered Goth wasn't waiting where she had left him.

She was somewhat surprised to find that she had flown no further that the branch nearest to the metal grating, she remembered it was like all her energy had just suddenly been taken from her. Dawn wondered if it had something to do with seeing the sun, even through glazed glass - she had heard many tales as to why bats were not to look at its light, but then again she was pretty certain Shade had not simply fallen asleep where he flew that fateful morning he had stayed out too long.

"Ah, to day with it," she cursed as she spread her wings and dropped from the tree.

Maybe he had grown bored and left to roost after she had gone into the tunnel?

But within the next few hours it quickly became clear that Goth simply didn't seem to be _**anywhere**_.

No one had seen him since the night before, and that wasn't all. Many bats had also gone missing since the day before as well. Anxious relatives and friends from colonies flitted between the trees, calling the names of loved ones and anxiously questioning anyone they came across for information.

The bats that had been there longest, notably Sanctus, didn't seem to be all that bothered by the event – she had seen more than one of them actively discouraging the other bats from searching at all.

Not surprisingly, Robin was not amongst the missing. She found him alone staring emptily into space, chewing slowly on a moth.

"Robin?!" she called, practically crash-landing opposite him. "Goth is missing, have you seen him?"

"No, but we both know what's happened," Robin replied unhelpfully, he went back to staring vacantly into space. "I saw my uncles, father and brothers all vanish like this. No one knows where they go, but everyone knows that they never come back."

"How can you be so indifferent?!" she squawked in a panic.

"Listen, if I wasn't indifferent I wouldn't be sane," he told her blandly. "Trust me, it hurts, but I won't grieve for any of them until I have escaped. It wouldn't help anyone if I broke down now, least of all me."

"Does anyone have any idea what happens to them?"

"You could try talking to Sanctus," Robin suggested. "But he'll just tell you that they've moved onto the next stage of paradise, the _chosen ones_, and that we should aspire to be like them."

"They've got to have gone somewhere," Dawn shook her head. "It's not like they can just vanish into thin air!"

"My theory is that the humans take them away when we're sleeping, because it's only during the day that bats go missing," Robin told her. "Though it's a mystery why no one has ever woken up. I've tried to stay awake several times now. On the days I do manage to stay awake nothing happens, it's the ones on which bats go missing that I can't. I just blink my eyes and it's night again."

"Do they eat them?" Dawn wailed, remembering what Robin had said when she had first met him. "What else could they want with us?"

"You gotta calm down, there isn't anything you can do about it."

"Goth wanted to escape," she began to think over the evening before; he had said something about looking at the stream right? "He had an idea, he thought there might be a way via the stream. What if he got out?" _'Or drowned...'_

But there was no sign of Goth at the stream either.

Flying as close to the stream as she dared, Dawn could see no room to escape through the tunnel in which the stream ran, the walls simply dipped below the water. Short of swimming into tunnel of cold death - swimming not being something any bat was very good at - where breathing, let alone escaping would be surely impossible, it didn't seem like a likely way out.

But there was something bobbing the water. Trapped amongst the fallen branches and rotten leaves was the twisted and torn wing of a brightwing!

"Oh, Nocturna, look!" she cried aghast, circling around she landed on the bank and stayed there.

A weary expression crossed Robin's face, but then he moved forward to inspect the tangled mess, landing upon one of the branches.

"..." he opened his mouth briefly as if to speak, but then hurriedly closed it again. He spent several minutes like this, quietly inspecting the scene. Dawn not moving from where she had landed at the edge of the steam, too scared, too afraid that she would see Goth amongst the dead.

"There's two, maybe three bats here," Robin said eventually. "They don't look like they've been here that long, but it's hard to tell who they are. They were erm…badly wounded."

"Is this proof then," Dawn worried. "Proof that the humans are keeping us here to eat us?!"

"Possibly, but then why are there so few bodies here?" Robin questioned. "Many bats have gone missing already, hundreds, and they're not here."

She could feel panic setting in, she wanted to fly away, cry, shriek. How had Goth gone missing? He was so strong, it horrified her to no end that he might be dead. She hadn't thought anything could stop him. Was it her fate too now to simply wait for death?

"This is all my fault, I should have gone looking for him!" she cried out, ignoring her memories of how impossible it had been to stay awake, how inexplicably her wings had felt heavy and her vision dimmed.

"He might still be alive," Robin said firmly, determinedly, and Dawn knew then that he hoped the same for his missing colony. "The humans must have taken them somewhere else, perhaps these bats tried to fight them and were killed accidentally."

"We have to get out and find them!"

Robin merely gave her a pitying look.

"I got to get out of here!" Dawn took to the air without a second thought.

She didn't look back once to check if Robin was following her, she only had one thought on her mind. She was going to try escaping again. The tunnel was her only chance!

Several bats had found the ripped open grating since that evening, they were talking quietly amongst themselves in wonder, but none made a move to inspect it, too scared to leave. Dawn dove amongst themselves, and scrambled in.

None of them followed her.

Dawn didn't stop her frantic scramble even when she neared where the owls were kept. They were seemingly distracted by something else, hooting angrily amongst themselves, none were anywhere near the grating this time but nevertheless she wasted no time in passing and getting as far away as possible from there.

She did stop once, looking back over her shoulder to see if anyone had followed her, but found she was alone. The end of the tunnel behind her was now fully dark, as if something had blocked out the light. Whatever had happened, she realized, she was going to have to do this alone.

After what seemed forever she came upon another grating. Having lost much of her energy now, and her panic somewhat faded, Dawn was more cautious this time. She could see, like before, that the tunnel extended beyond this grating as well, so theoretically she could continue onwards. But what if this was a way out?

Heat poured out of this grating, air so thick with moisture that Dawn felt as if she had just dived into a pond warmed by the hottest summer sun. There were no owls here, but she could smell bat and strangely enough, mice. It didn't look like outside, but the mice must have gotten in somehow, she figured this meant there had to be a way out close by.

It was funny how the grating here was heavier, similar to that for the owls, the bars far more widely spaced but stronger and thicker, not thin wire mesh. She knew just by looking that she wouldn't be able to prise the bars off, but could she squeeze through? Dawn sent a barrage of echoes down the tunnel she had been following, it seemed to go on forever, not so appealing...But if this strange new forest proved to be inescapable, then she could always go back.

First she put her head through the bars and had a quick look around. Strange trees and plants she had never seen before reached up from the forest floor, some even hung from the ceiling. Their leaves dark and glossy. She couldn't see any bats, but she did spot a lone white mouse skittering across the ground upon a blur of legs.

Dawn pushed her shoulders through the bars, finding that she could just fit, then her ribs, which was slightly painful, and then she was through and falling. She beat her wings hastily and quickly flew up into the strange place.

This artificial forest was smaller than the first, much of it obscured by the heavy dark foliage. It was not like any forest she had ever seen before. Was this a jungle like Goth had described? An artificial jungle? It was too warm here, her fur too thick, the vegetation seemed to literally steam with the heat. And strangely lifeless...even the mouse she had seen earlier was gone.

Was there anyone even here?

And then something large was plummeting through the canopy towards her.

Suddenly finding her voice, Dawn screeched and flew out of the way, quickly flying back towards where the grating was.

Chasing behind her, crashing through any vegetation in its path, was a huge bat, but it wasn't Goth and it didn't look friendly!

Her claws clanged against the metal grating as she landed, but suddenly the narrow gaps between the bars seemed impossibly small, she knew she wouldn't be able to squeeze through in time before she was caught.

So she flew on, narrowly missing being crushed into the wall, completely at loss at why another bat would be so aggressive towards her for no reason. She remembered Goth had initially acted the same way, was this a common greeting for his species or something?! What in Nocturna's name was going on!?

Spotting a crevice in a tree up ahead, she swung around and shot inside it, already confident that the other wouldn't be able to fit in after her. The hollow was quite extensive and Dawn quickly wiggled her way out of reach.

She watched in terror as the crazed bat growled and tried to grab at her, his claws leaving gouges in the edges of the hollow.

"What have you found, Throbb?" asked a voice, somewhat muffled to her ears by the tree.

The bat scrabbling at the crevice immediately stopped, a look of wariness replacing the sadistic fury on his face.

"Nothing, just a mouse."

The bat called Throbb was abruptly shoved aside and a familiar face replacing where his had been.

"…Dawn?"

"Goth!" she cried out relieved, but hesitated in leaving the safety of the tree. "Thank Nocturna, I thought you were dead!"

Goth silently offered her his hand, and she took it without hesitating, allowing herself to be drawn out of the tree.

"What's going on?" she asked, eyeing Throbb warily - though he came no closer, his expression deadpan. "He tried to kill me!"

Goth brought one wing around her, she was somewhat unnerved by the sudden heavy weight of his hand between her shoulders as he looks skywards.

She followed his line of sight, up into the canopy, and saw descending quietly down towards them, were the dark forms of many other giant bats.

* * *

_A/N: Goth did NOT eat Robin, some readers mistook this, so I guess that was probably poor writing on my part, sorry. Goth charmed some random brightwing and then killed her out of sight. Robin is a sneaky little bastard (not intentionally), Goth did try hunting him off screen but couldn't find him, lol._

_Review responses:_

_Guest 1#: Daww, thanks. Yeah Goth is a really sly charmer :D_

_Carlisle Fan 22: In some parts of the world, people do it bats (flying foxes, it's very sad) but you're right, in this case that is not the purpose of the artificial forest ;)_

_GoddessNefertari18: Thankies ;D_

_RandomCitizen: Good point about why Goth assuming they wanted his vision, that was never explained in the TV series, I think I'm gonna go read the books again to see if it says anything there._

_Guest 2#: Yeah, Robin has gone a bit insane XD_


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